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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29027421">Stitched Through Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminalMiraculosis/pseuds/TerminalMiraculosis'>TerminalMiraculosis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Teen for language, Time Shenanigans, Trans Female Huey Duck, trans huey is a minor thing tho so if it isnt ur cup of tea it should still be enjoyable, yall are just gonna have to trust me on this one kay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:42:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>51,900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29027421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminalMiraculosis/pseuds/TerminalMiraculosis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lena breaks a powerful magical artifact during a fight with the Phantom Blot, three instances of herself from various points in her timeline are shuffled around, leaving her disoriented and confused. If she wants to figure out what happened and fix the timeline, she'll need to confront past and future demons alike. At least Webby will be there to help her through, no matter what year it is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Huey Duck &amp; Violet Sabrewing, Lena (Disney: DuckTales) &amp; Violet Sabrewing &amp; Webby Vanderquack, Lena (Disney: DuckTales)/Webby Vanderquack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>239</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: In Media Res</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Lena becomes Lena becomes Lena.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena could do nothing but watch, horrified, as Magica piloted her body up Killmotor Hill, ranting to herself. “Big day, Magica, </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> big day… The eclipse is at hand! my plan is </span>
  <em>
    <span>flawless!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena screamed into the nothingness of her current existence. She struggled frantically, pushing against the prison of Magica’s possession, desperate to find a way to take back control of her body. Somehow, she managed to find a crack; she dug her metaphysical nails in, tore it open, and—  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“BLUERK!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena gagged as she forced her way back into her body. Magica was pushed out, thrown into Lena’s shadow, but she held on with dark tendrils tethered to Lena’s eyes and mouth. Gross.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me </span>
  <em>
    <span>go!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena shouted, writhing and pulling at the cords of shadow magic that bound her. But it was no use.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s right,” Magica mused. “I forgot you were here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena narrowed her eyes. “I—I won’t let you do this!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh huh,” Magica said dismissively. If she had eyes, Lena was certain she’d be rolling them at her. “Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>except,</span>
  </em>
  <span> at the moment of the eclipse, my powers will finally unleash, and I’ll be an </span>
  <em>
    <span>invincible juggernaut of DARK MAGIC!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her shadow grew in size on the sidewalk, and Lena took a stumbling step back. “So. You know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena didn’t have time to react before Magica slithered back into her body, and Lena’s essence was once again exiled to the deepest peripheries of the material world.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena yawned as she stepped into the bedroom of her apartment, taking out her hair tie and carefully undoing her braid. She shook her hair out, then turned to the wardrobe to change into her pajamas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lenaaaaaa,” came a whine from the bed. “I’m coooooold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena giggled. “Just a sec, Webs. You need to be patient.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to be patient. I want to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>warm.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena tossed her old clothes into the hamper, and looked over at her fiancee as she took out her pajama shirt. Webby was sprawled across her half of the bed, pouting adorably at Lena and hugging her giant unicorn plushie tightly to her chest. “What, is Mr. Murderhooves not good enough for you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby gasped, and squeezed the plushie even tighter. “How could you say that? You know I love our son unconditionally. But I love you too!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aww, Pink, do you have a crush on me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby huffed. “You’re the worst.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena laughed. She put her shirt on, then climbed into the bed next to Webby. Webby hummed happily and set Mr. Murderhooves off to the side, replacing him with Lena. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena returned the embrace, planting a kiss onto Webby’s beak. “I love you too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm… Warm,” Webby said, snuggling up closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena smiled, and with a small rush of magic, she raised her internal temperature a few degrees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby sighed contentedly. “Oh, wow. Have I ever told you that you’re amazing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only every day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Lena let Webby leech off her magical warmth, she played with Webby’s hair, running it through her fingers. “You’re being even more snuggly than usual tonight,” she observed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm. Yeah. Long day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s funny,” Lena said. “I feel like you always say that after working one of your day jobs, and never after one of our adventures.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surprisingly, working with other people is a lot more tiring than running around beating up monsters and almost dying,” Webby said. “At least I have a Lena to come home to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You always will,” Lena said, this time delivering her kiss to Webby’s forehead. She hummed in approval, and the two of them drifted off to sleep, entangled in each other's arms.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena screamed as a blast of magic connected with her, sending her tumbling down the street in a cloud of dust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena!” Webby and Violet called from behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the end for you, Child of Shadow!” Phantom Blot roared, his gauntlet glowing with barely-constrained power.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You say that, like, every time, man,” Lena said, glaring at him as she got back onto her feet. “I thought when we took F.O.W.L. down you’d finally screw off, but I guess not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I may have aligned myself with them temporarily, but my mission to rid this planet of magic transcends all petty mortal allegiances,” Blot pronounced, raising his gauntlet. “Now prepare to—argh!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was interrupted as Webby threw herself at him, delivering a harsh kick to his midsection and converting into an uppercut. He grunted and swiped down at her, but she slipped under his legs, sending an elbow into the back of his kneecap as she went. His leg folded, and he fell onto one knee, struggling to keep his balance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now!” Webby called.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was all Lena needed. She summoned her magic, and she felt her appearance change to her super-sorceress outfit as she tapped into her inner strength. She raised a hand, and a giant blue laser shot out and slammed into Blot’s chest, knocking the wind out of him and toppling him over backwards. Then, she grabbed his gauntlet in her telekinesis, and ripped it straight off his arm, a few parts snapping off in the process. She gestured with her hand, and the gauntlet shone bright for a few seconds before exploding in a shower of debris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Phantom Blot cried, sitting up and reaching forlornly towards the charred remains of his gauntlet. “You may have won this round, Child of Shadow, but you haven’t seen the last of the Phantom Blot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, dude, I know,” Lena said. “You’re really persistent.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the twenty-second gauntlet of yours that we’ve broken,” Violet added. “You may want to think about trying a different approach other than ‘steal Lena’s magic.’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby put her hands on her hips. “So, same time next week?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blot narrowed his eyes. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>mock</span>
  </em>
  <span> me?! Bah! I was saving this for a more opportune moment, but you petulant children have forced my hand!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled something out of his cloak; it looked like an old copper pocket watch, but it was emanating a powerful magical aura. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no you don’t,” Lena called, shooting forward through the air. Blot’s eyes widened, and he slammed a button on the watch just milliseconds before Lena snatched it out of his hand. She looked down at the watch, and saw that the hands were spinning out of control.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit! What did you do?” she called. “Actually, I don’t care. HRAH!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She channeled her magic through her arm and slammed the watch down against the pavement with supernatural strength. The tiny thing crumpled in on itself from the force of the impact, the protective glass over the face shattering, and then Lena was consumed by a bright light as the ancient magic contained in the artifact exploded powerfully into her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her last thought before she lost consciousness was that perhaps she should’ve thought this through a little bit more.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was having a nightmare again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had thought once, when she was a teenager, tossing and turning in the bed and waking up her family with distressed wails, that the nightmares would eventually go away when she got older. On some level, she still hoped that they would—they had gone down in frequency, at least—but she was twenty-three now, and even after all these years and all those therapy sessions the nightmares remained a fact of her life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right now, she was flashing back to the day of the Shadow War, as Magica approached the front doors of McDuck Manor using her body as a puppet. This was, all things considered, pretty standard fare; having your body forcibly possessed by your abusive aunt was something that would give </span>
  <em>
    <span>anybody</span>
  </em>
  <span> nightmares for years.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It usually went like this: Magica walked her into the mansion, stole the dime from Scrooge, resumed her true form, banished Lena back into her shadow, took over Duckburg, and then started hurting Lena’s friends and family, and usually by that point Lena woke up screaming. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You know. Nightmare stuff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This is why she was reasonably surprised when Magica opened the mansion doors not to instantly beat Scrooge and take the dime, but to… a depressed-looking McDuck surrounded by greasy pizza boxes. The scene continued to unfold not with increasingly terrifying and soul-crushing horrors, but rather, exactly like Lena remembered. Magica brewed her special tea, Scrooge moped about, Magica monologued to herself a bit, Scrooge spilled the tea, Magica got frustrated—this was not how her nightmares usually went. The only difference between the dream and Lena’s memories was that she hadn’t fought her way out of the possession to fruitlessly shout at Magica this time, because, well, she hadn’t tried to. Why would she? This was just a nightmare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except she wasn’t so sure of that anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She concentrated. Reached deep within herself, all the way down to her magical core. What she found was a tenebrous heart of shadow magic, dusted with just the faintest traces of her own unique magical signature pushing through under the surface.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were several things wrong with this. First off, she’d never been able to sense her core before in dreams. That just wasn’t a thing, as far as she was aware. And secondly, this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> what her core was supposed to feel like. At least, not anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Something isn’t right.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One moment, Lena was possessed by Magica, watching herself step onto the porch of McDuck Manor, and the next, she was lying face down in the middle of a road somewhere in the shady part of the city. She was familiar with this road; there was a corner store with a really loud bell on the door at the intersection just north of here. Made shoplifting harder, but pickpocketing easier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“LENA!” someone called, and she heard the tap-tap-tap of webbed feet running across asphalt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena pushed herself onto her knees. Two girls were running towards her; one was a purple hummingbird girl with thick, curly black hair, and the other was… “W-webby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, why would you just break a dangerous artifact like that?” Purple said. “Who knows what could have happened!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Webby cried. “There was this big burst of light and I heard Phantom Blot scream but now he’s gone and you were just lying there and </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> be okay!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Burst of light?” Lena asked. Did something happen with Magica? The eclipse, maybe? Why would Lena end up all the way out here, though? But—no, no, it didn’t matter. Magica couldn’t be stopped; she should just be thankful she’d managed to get away. “Ugh, whatever—Webby, look, we have to go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go?” Webby looked up at her in confusion. “Go where?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um—gah, I don’t know, somewhere! Somewhere far away! Look, something—something </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going to happen once the eclipse hits, and when it does, we need to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> gone, okay? You trust me, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby just looked more and more puzzled as Lena kept talking. “Lena, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> I trust you, but you’re not making any sense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An eclipse?” Purple asked, raising an eyebrow. “There’s no eclipse today, Lena. Duckburg probably won’t see one for another hundred years at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? But—” Lena turned her gaze skyward, only to find that the moon was nowhere in sight. Her eyes widened. “Something isn’t right.”</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was teetering on the edge of sleep. She felt like she was falling out of the Cloudslayer, and consciousness was the ground rushing up to meet her. But it was a long ways off, and she was determined to enjoy her time in the clouds while she had it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something hummed in the back of her mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lena.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She ignored it. She was so tired. She didn’t know if she’d ever felt this tired before. And this bed was so comfortable. She was so warm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It came again. “Lena.” This time, something jostled her in accompaniment; turbulence as she tumbled towards the dirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn’t quite at the ground yet, though. It was beginning to come into focus—the lights of the waking world prying open her eyelids ever-so-slowly—but she probably had a few more seconds of blissful half-sleep if she really tried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, somethings wrong.” It sounded like Webby’s voice, but a little off. A bit less nasally than normal. Something was shaking her. “Lena, I think something’s wrong with your magic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Magic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slammed into the ground and shot up in bed, suddenly wide awake. “Phantom Blot!” she exclaimed in a panic. “Shit, shit, what happened? Where am I? Webby, are you—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stopped cold as she came face to face with Webby. Except this Webby looked at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> five years older than the teenage duck Lena knew. She was staring at Lena with concerned eyes, her hair much longer than Lena was used to, falling over her broader shoulders and getting caught on the folds of her pink sleep shirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, did you have another nightmare?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena blinked at her. “Something isn’t right.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, uh... here's this! I've never written a time travel fic before, but by god am I having a good time with it asdhsgdfds</p>
<p>I'm really excited for this fic, I've got some fun stuff planned. Already have the next couple chapters mostly written, but I'm gonna space out updates a little so I don't run dry. We'll see how patient I can be; maybe I'll try to hit weekly updates for this fic? Who knows.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Lost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena tries to escape Magica. Lena is confronted with confusing realities. Lena and Webby try to make sense of the situation.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Lena watched Magica desperately try to cajole Scrooge into drinking the spiked tea, she did some deep thinking, and eventually came to the conclusion that this was not a dream. Somehow, some way, she had been transported back in time into the body of her teenage self on the day of the Shadow War. Which, great. Cool. Couldn’t have been literally any other day of her life, huh?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unless, of course, that was intentional on the part of whatever had done this to her. Speaking of which, she was lacking some key information: namely, what exactly had happened, and then how it had happened, who-slash-what had caused it to happen, and, if applicable, why they had chosen to make it happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was rather lost on the majority of these conjectures, mostly because she didn’t know where to even start. There were basically three broad categories of theories: one, that something had happened here, in the past, to pull her back; two, that something had happened in 2027 to </span>
  <em>
    <span>send</span>
  </em>
  <span> her back; or, three, that neither of those were the case and it was completely unrelated to her specifically, and she just got caught in the crossfire. That would be just her luck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since everything here seemed to be proceeding with a rigid adherence to her memory, it was probably one of the latter two theories, which meant there was fuck-all she could really do to figure anything out about what had caused this until she found a way back home. Her best guess at the moment was that someone she’d pissed off along the line had snuck into their apartment and ambushed her in her sleep with some sort of time-bomb. Or, wait, time bombs were already just normal bombs, weren’t they? Time… sword? A time sword? That sounded classy; she’d go with that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her current plan of action, then, would be to figure out exactly what had happened to her, and from there, devise a spell of some kind that might be able to put her back into her proper timeline. Step one of that plan, of course, would be to deal with Magica, who, right on cue, tackled Scrooge and snatched the dime from around his neck. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Here we go.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pain that came from Magica using her body as a means to channel the power of the eclipse was indescribable, but if Lena were forced to describe it, she would probably say it was ‘Like, really really bad, dude.’ In fact, it proved to be too much raw magic for this young version of herself to take, and she briefly blacked out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She came to only a few seconds later, lying on the pizza-stained carpet, just in time to catch Magica’s dramatic little poem about her grand return. She couldn’t help but wish she could’ve been out for just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>few </span>
  </em>
  <span>seconds longer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Scrooge and Magica started their little back and forth about who was going to stop who from getting away with what, Lena took a stabilizing breath, once again reaching down into her core.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena had learned a lot about herself since the first time she was here. Both in the sappy emotional sense (thank you, Webby), but also in the technical, magical sense (thank you, Violet); for example, she knew that her magical capacity grew as she aged. This meant that she was currently working with a much smaller pool than she was used to. This version of herself also hadn’t ‘unlocked’ her true potential—that would only come once she had to fight the Phantom Blot in Magica’s smelly swamp in a couple years. She could… </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably </span>
  </em>
  <span>unlock it on her own, but she didn’t have time to figure that out right now, which meant there was absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>no way</span>
  </em>
  <span> she’d be able to fight Magica head on at the moment. Maybe she could sneak away before she—oh, no, she was already putting the cage up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge positioned himself between Lena and Magica as the blast came towards them, which was pretty nice of him, considering, but obviously it was pointless as a glowing magical cage sprung up around them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge’s face narrowed with anger, and he began pulling fruitlessly at the bars of their prison. “Grrah! Let me out, you foul-hearted she-devil!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, I’ve always </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be called a foul-hearted she-devil,” Magica mused. “You always know </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> what to say, Scrooge. But, ah, no. You be a good little arch-nemesis and sit there quietly while I absorb the magical power of the eclipse, mmkay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that, she floated up to the gigantic window, cape billowing in an arcane wind, the perfect picture of powerful dark magic mixed with pretentious supervillainy. At least she had her back to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. The nightmares were bad, sure, but literally living through all of this a second time? Way worse. Linda would be hearing all about this one when Lena had her next session, whenever that ended up being.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ye wee tenebrous traitor!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge’s shout caused Lena to wince, bringing her out of her breathing routine. Oh, right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Scrooge.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We welcomed you into our home only to have ya release </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> repugnant beast-monger!” he accused, pointing a crooked finger at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh huh, yell at the child who’s trapped in the cage with you,” Lena said, rolling her eyes at him. “I’m sure that’ll really help us out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge held onto his anger for a couple seconds longer before it fizzled out, and he sighed. “No, no, lassie, you’re right. I suppose you must be a victim of her malevolent, manipulating magic as well, eh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could say that,” Lena agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can ya think of anything that might help us get out of here before she’s done chargin’ up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I could give you a heart-felt pep talk about how your big mistake was isolating yourself from your family, because they’re your greatest strength,” Lena said. “But that wouldn’t actually help us break out of the cage, so I’m just gonna skip it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge raised an eyebrow. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” Lena said. “Look, I’m gonna run, but I don’t have the strength right now to take you with me. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You…” Scrooge seemed to consider her for a moment. “Go, Lena. Find Beakley and the others if you can. And… keep them safe for me, will you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena smiled at him. “You got it, moneybags.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena phased into the shadows with a practiced ease that her thirteen-year-old self could have only dreamed of, and slipped neatly out of the cage, skating across the floor of the mansion and out onto the driveway. She angled for the docks, where she knew everyone was holding their Maybe Scrooge Isn’t A Total Jerk And We Should Try To Forgive Him dinner. Scrooge had told her to find Beakley, and, sure, Beakley would certainly be useful, but the only duck Lena really wanted to see right now was Webby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It occurred to her, then, that she didn’t know which Webby she’d be meeting here. If she really </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been attacked in her sleep, then there was a good chance that whatever had affected her had affected Webby as well. She hoped so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was that bad? That she hoped Webby had gotten ripped out of her timeline and thrown into the past? She supposed it was a little selfish, but she took comfort in knowing that if this </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Webby she knew, she’d be just as relieved to see Lena as Lena would be to see her.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared up at the sky, brow knit in confusion. “No, but—but—the eclipse was—and—it was just happening!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In front of her, Webby and Purple Hummingbird Girl exchanged a glance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena…” Webby ventured carefully. “I think that </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> think that today is the Shadow War. But that was three years ago. Close to four, now.” She reached out and took Lena’s hand. “Magica can’t hurt you any—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena yanked her hand away at the speed of light, backing up. “Magica?” she asked, eyes wide and wavering. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby was concerned. It was all over her face. “Lena, like I said, that was a long time ago. Magica’s gone—we beat her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>together.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I think that artifact might have messed with your memories.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But—but you know that I’m—” Lena’s throat caught; she wasn’t sure she’d ever been more terrified in her life. “That I’m… not real?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>real,” Webby said, smiling at her sadly. “You’ve always been real. Shadow or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s head was swirling with emotions. She stared at Webby, and then her eyes slid over to Purple, who was looking at her with a very, very slight frown. “Okay, and who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Purple’s face fell a bit further at that, though it remained largely unreadable. “I’m Violet. I’m your sister.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Lena let out a manic laugh. “My sister? Um, no you’re not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My fathers adopted you a couple years ago, actually, so legally, yes, I am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Adopted?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena took another step back. “No. No, this doesn’t make any sense. Who would adopt a </span>
  <em>
    <span>monster?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a monster,” Webby stressed, clasping her hands together in front of her. “I know you’re scared right now—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not scared!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “And I know you don’t know what’s happening, and neither do we, really, but you don’t have to deal with this alone. You may not believe it right now, but you have lots of people who care about you. We’ll figure this out! It’ll be okay!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! No, this doesn’t make any sense, this—no!” Lena was shouting now. She bet she looked like a crazy person. For all she knew, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a crazy person. “You’re telling me—you’re telling me that after I </span>
  <em>
    <span>lied</span>
  </em>
  <span> to your face, </span>
  <em>
    <span>manipulated</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, put your </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole</span>
  </em>
  <span> family in danger, and let Scrooge’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst enemy</span>
  </em>
  <span> into his house, you just… forgave me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Webby implored.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena cried. “You’re either the biggest </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> idiot ever, Webby, or this is some sort of trick. And you”—she turned on Violet—“I don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> who in the hell you are, claiming to be my—my </span>
  <em>
    <span>sister.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Two minutes ago Magica was possessing me, and now all of a sudden you’re telling me that everyone I hurt just forgave me and that I have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>family</span>
  </em>
  <span> that </span>
  <em>
    <span>loves me?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The very words felt foreign on her tongue, and left a bad taste in her mouth. She spit onto the road, desperate to get it out. “No, fuck that. Fuck this. This has to be a lie. I bet Magica cast some bullshit spell on me to lure me into some sort of false security or some shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to believe me,” Webby pleaded. She took a step forward, and Lena took a step back. “Magica was the one who made you lie to me. Magica was the one who endangered my family. But </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> were the one who jumped into the jaws of a money shark for me, the one who saved Granny from being crushed in a subway, the one who saved all of Duckburg when you helped us fight Magica! Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> I would forgive you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I simply saw a girl without a home and offered if you wanted to stay with me and my fathers until you could sort something out,” Violet said. “We weren’t family </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but we became one. I may have only known you for a few years, but my life has truly been better with you in it. I know you don’t remember, Lena, but I don’t lie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena looked between the two girls, smiling at her encouragingly, hopefully. They each extended a hand, and Lena saw friendship bracelets adorning their arms. Slowly, carefully, she brought her own arm up; sure enough, she had a bracelet of her own around her wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She felt tears sprouting in the corners of her eyes. She was so confused; it didn’t make any sense. She didn’t get a </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy ending.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She was Lena de Spell, the fragment of Magica’s shadow brought to life to help her achieve revenge. She wasn’t anyone’s friend. Not anyone’s sister; anyone’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>daughter.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Just a shadow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It all proved too much for the young girl, and without another word, she turned heel and bolted down the road at a sprint.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared at Webby—or, well, the version of Webby lying in front of her. She lifted her beak, then let it fall shut, blinking. She rubbed her eyes and opened them again, but, no, Webby was still… old. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was probably rude. She didn’t look old. She looked great. But she was, you know, old</span>
  <em>
    <span>er</span>
  </em>
  <span> than she should be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, did you have a nightmare?” Webby repeated. She was propped up on her elbow on the bed, looking at Lena with worry. “Whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad if it caused your form to revert like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—whuh?” Lena said dumbly, glancing down at herself. Everything looked in order.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, wow, I haven’t seen you like this in… well, a while,” Webby went on. “Brings back memories. But, you were saying something about Phantom Blot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Lena said, everything rushing back to her. “I was fighting Phantom Blot! And he had some sort of… weird… magical artifact thingy, which I broke, and then it exploded, and then I woke up here and now you’re super old!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby frowned. “What? I’m not old! I’m a year younger than you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dammit, she’d done it again. “No, no, I don’t mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>old, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I mean that like ten minutes ago you were sixteen!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In… your dream?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it wasn’t a stupid dream!” Lena stressed. “It was a very real thing that happened, and it, I don’t know, transported me through time or something! I’m not sure, I’m super super confused! I’m supposed to be in 2021—I’m seventeen!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby stared at her thoughtfully for a few seconds before saying, “You wanna do this over coffee?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena sighed. “Please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*    *    *</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few minutes later, Lena was sitting across from old-Webby at a small kitchen table, nursing a hot cup of coffee. The Webby that Lena knew didn’t drink coffee, but she could hardly say she was surprised when Webby took hers with cream and far too many sugars.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Webby said, staring down at her coffee cup. “This is not how I expected my morning to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, I’m sorry,” Lena said. “I never should have broken that stupid artifact.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That probably wasn’t the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best </span>
  </em>
  <span>move,” Webby admitted. “But you don’t have to apologize. This kind of stuff just happens with us—I’m sure you’re starting to learn that yourself. We’ll figure it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t this, like, really bad though?” Lena said. “To mess with time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It happens pretty often, actually,” Webby said. “Dewey time traveled during Christmas way back in the day, and then Louie had that whole kerfuffle with the time tub not long after. Few years after that, Huey and Boyd had a little fiasco with some spacetime wormholes that got pretty complicated. Oh, and Glomgold had that crazy time stopper thingy that one time? I don’t know, that one was weird.” She shrugged. “Always thought it would be my turn next, but I guess that’s still on the horizon somewhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And those all… went okay?” Lena asked. “No terrible world-ending paradoxes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, those </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> happen sometimes,” Webby admitted. “Ask Louie. But, hey, it all worked out in the end! And I don’t think your situation is at much risk for that. Those are only a problem when you jump around over and over again and move stuff around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s reassuring, I guess,” Lena said. “I’m just… really at a loss. You said it’s 2027 now? That’s six years. So much must have changed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby hummed thoughtfully. “Well, a lot of things have changed, sure. I think you’ll be surprised, though. People grow older, but the important bits seem to stick around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess… So that makes you twenty-two now? And I would be twenty-three?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re both twenty-three, actually,” Webby said. “My birthday was a couple weeks ago, so we’re in that couple-month period where we’re the same age.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Lena said. “Um, happy birthday?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby laughed. “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope old-me got you something good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got me something </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> good,” Webby said, splaying her hand forward and wiggling a finger with an intricate silver ring on it, a glimmering pink gemstone inset on the front.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” Lena said. “That’s beautiful. And… expensive? I mean for a birthday present? Not that I don’t approve of giving you nice gifts, but like, I must really be rolling in it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby chuckled. “It’s an engagement ring, Lena. Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual</span>
  </em>
  <span> birthday present to me was a wall rack for my knives.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena nodded. “Oh, that makes more seeeeeehhhWHAT?!” Lena stood up so fast she knocked the chair over, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “We’re—we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>dating?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>ENGAGED?!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby made an ‘o’ with her beak. “You, uh… You thought we lived in the same apartment and slept in the same bed just for funsies?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I, uh—I just—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, forget I asked that. That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> something we would think as teenagers.” She shook her head. “God, we really were disasters back then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gave her a flat look. “Gee, thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, you’re an adorable disaster,” Webby said, waving her off. “Past me thinks so too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aaaaand Lena’s blush was back. “Hey, so, could we talk about literally anything else right now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby let out a disbelieving giggle. “Not quite ready to confront that yet, huh? God, you really are teenage Lena. I’ve been through a lot of strange stuff, but this might just be the strangest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re telling me,” Lena said, rolling her eyes. “But, um. Do you have any idea how I could even </span>
  <em>
    <span>start</span>
  </em>
  <span> trying to fix this? I’ll bet you want your Lena back just as much as I want to get home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t have any idea, but we both know someone who might.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Violet,” Lena said, then paused. “Oh, god, and I thought meeting old </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> was weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not old,” Webby said pointedly. “And we should get going. I’ve got work soon, but if we leave now I should have time to drop you off at Vi’s and still be on time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, just saying, you claim you’re not old, and then in the next breath you start talking about how you’re worried you’ll be late for work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby glared as she stood up, picking up the coffee mugs and placing them into the sink. “Alright, young lady, I’m gonna need you to turn the sass down a notch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow. I hate everything about what you just said to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, me too,” Webby said, sticking out her tongue. “I thought it would be funny but it was just weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe we should just go,” Lena suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Webby let out a puff of air, crossing her arms and staring off at the wall. “Yeah, that sounds good.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Motion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena shadowwalks through the streets of Duckburg. Lena runs through the streets of Duckburg. Lena drives through the streets of Duckburg.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s magical reserves ran dry halfway to the docks, and she stumbled out of a sidewalk crack, startling a few pedestrians. She paid them no mind, and started running, already breathing labored breaths; but if she wanted to reach everyone before they ran off to fight Magica—and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> did—she needed to hurry.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She only made it a few more blocks, however, before Magica rose out from McDuck Manor in a giant pillar of purple-black magic. Her manic cackling seemed to echo throughout all of Duckburg, and she shot out a million bolts of dark magic, homing in on all the citizens. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena skidded to a halt and braced herself as the shadow animation spell shot towards her. She had no clue how that sort of magic would interact with her body if it hit her, and she wasn’t about to find out; with a shout of exertion, she summoned what little independent magic this version of herself had developed, and managed to conjure a small shield. It took Magica’s spell head-on, flickering out and dying a second later, but it had done its job.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned back towards the docks, and immediately was almost run over by a woman in a business blazer, who was shrieking and swatting at her shadow with her purse as she sprinted down the street. Her shadow grinned toothily as it chased her, claws outstretched, and Lena had an idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stepped between the woman and her shadow, and thrust her hand forward. She met some resistance as she pressed against the shadow’s stomach, but she narrowed her eyes and breathed out slowly, and her hand sunk fully inside the conjuration. It paused in confusion for a second before letting out an enraged roar, but before it could attack, Lena found its core—a small, pulsating kernel of shadow magic deep at the heart of the creature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gimme that,” Lena said, and she clenched her hand. She gasped as she absorbed the magic, her eyes briefly glossing over black, and the shadow monster exploded, raining down onto the road and forming a puddle of darkness that quickly reattached itself to the feet of the wide-eyed woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What…?” she muttered, looking down at Lena with a mixture of confusion, relief, and fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should probably find somewhere to take shelter,” Lena suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman didn’t stop to question her further, and took off like a shot into a nearby department store. With the booster shot of magic she’d absorbed from Magica’s spell, Lena had enough reserves to shadowwalk again, and she dove back into the darkness, racing along the ground towards the docks. She had to stop a few more times for a refill, popping out next to some rogue shadow and absorbing the magic animating it before going back under.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time she reached the docks, Donald’s houseboat was just setting sail off towards the Money Bin. She cursed herself for being too slow, but it turned out it was slightly premature; Webby and the dorks were waiting on the pier, tossing off massive life vests and talking heatedly about something. Lena stepped out of the shadows at the base of the pier, and slowly approached.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The ducks </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> back down!” Dewey was saying determinedly. “Now, if only we knew someone with experience breaking into places.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby gasped, leaning forward. “You mean like a noble teen ne’er-do-well who can break into anything, including your </span>
  <em>
    <span>heart?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena laughed. “You’re sweet, Pink.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all jumped, turning to her. “Gah! When did you get there?” Louie cried. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“L-L-Lena!” Webby said, her face growing red. “I didn’t, uh, didn’t see you there! I just—well—we’re friends, you know, that’s what the heart thing was about, not, like—uh—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stopped her with a hand. “Relax, Webby. I know what you meant.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Webby said, showing a relieved smile. “Uh, good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena tried to return the smile, but she knew it must have been weak. This confirmed it: Webby had </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> been sent back with her. She had to figure this out on her own. Or, well, she was sure baby-Webby would help her, of course. But as adorable as she was, Lena really could’ve used her fiancee right about now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You showed up just on time!” Huey said. “The woman who’s attacking the city and bringing all our shadows to life, her name is—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Magica de Spell. Yeah, I know, Hat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You… know?” Huey scrunched his brow up. “How do you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, jeez,” Lena said. “I’ve got a lot of sh—a lot of stuff to explain to you guys, but, like. I’m not sure we have time. I should really be meditating right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stared at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Louie said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh…” Dewey cleared his throat. “No offense, Lena, but I didn’t really take you for the meditating type?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, um. Abridged version,” Lena said. “Basically, I’m a sentient shadow construct created by Magica as a way for her to maintain a presence in the world while her material body was trapped inside Scrooge’s dime. Except, I wasn’t actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be sentient, she kind of screwed that part up. So in order to make sure I did what she asked, she held me as her prisoner, and I would only get my freedom once she got her body back from Scrooge’s dime. So, um, sorry about lying to you, but I had no choice, and I tried to keep you all as safe as possible, like when I destroyed the money shark and stuff. But anyway, now that Magica has the dime, I’m free, and so now I want to help beat her up and save everyone. Following so far?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louie frowned at her. “Uh, no?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> many questions,” Huey said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m following!” Webby chirped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take it,” Lena said. “Anyway, all of that is, like, true for thirteen-year-old me, right? But the </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span> part is that—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t the weird part?” Dewey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span> part,” Lena went on, “is that I’m actually a version of Lena from ten years in the future, and for some reason I was transported back into the body of my younger self. I need to meditate so that I can unlock my innate magic, which Magica has spent the past thirteen years actively repressing from within my shadow so that I wouldn’t be able to do exactly what I plan on doing, vis a vis, foiling her plans.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am literally so lost right now,” Dewey said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” Huey said. “If… Okay, wait. If you’re from the future, then you know how all this unfolds already, right? Aside from any variables you’re changing by being here now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Correct,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh!” Webby perked up. “Maybe you were sent here to fix things! Isn’t that something that happens a lot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In movies, maybe,” Lena said. “But there isn’t much to fix. Everything worked out okay the first time round. We beat Magica, Scrooge was saved, everyone got their shadows back… I mean, I died in the process, which I’d prefer to avoid this time, but I got better so it was, like, fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby paled a little at that, but before she could say anything, Louie cut through, waving his arms around. “Wait, wait, wait, are we just glossing over the part where you were a spy for Magica?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I was a kid and Magica was manipulating me. It wasn’t exactly voluntary. And, for the record, it’s been ten years, and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> feel guilty about lying to you guys.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Lena,” Webby said, taking her hand. “I forgive you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dope,” Lena said. “Sorry, I’d be more emotional but we’ve already gone through this multiple times from my perspective.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would we have to forgive you multiple times?” Huey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, because I hate myself and my brain tells me that you’re always just saying it to be nice but you secretly despise me? Ask Linda.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby cocked her head. “Linda?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My therapist,” Lena said, waving a hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m still, like, super confused,” Dewey said. “You’re a shadow?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How does that work?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It, uh.” Lena paused. “Magic? That’s honestly the best I’ve got. I mean, I could say that I’m a stable and self-perpetuating magical construct grown from a condensed core of Magica’s shadow magic, but that basically just boils down to ‘magic,’ so really there’s no point getting into the technicalities.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Okay, this is crazy,” Louie said, waving one arm about as he clutched at his forehead with the other. “This is crazy and insane and so, so much to process, but I don’t think you’re lying, which means we honestly have bigger problems right now. I’m putting a hold on all further questions until our shadows are no longer trying to kill us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But—my questions!” Huey whined. “She knows the </span>
  <em>
    <span>future,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Louie!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ignore him,” Dewey said. “What’s the plan?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The plan,” Lena said, sitting down cross-legged on the pier, “is that I’m going to sit here and think about how much I love you nerds until it gives me superpowers. I’m not gonna lie to you, though, it’s mostly gonna be me thinking about Webby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby gasped excitedly. “Friendship magic!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena smirked. “Exactly, Pink. Friendship magic. Now everyone be quiet; I need to focus.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stumbled as she darted through the streets, cutting through alleyways and hopping fences until she was sure she’d lost Webby and Violet. She didn’t want to see them right now; she just wanted to be alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sat down with her back up against a dumpster, curling her knees up against her chest and burying her face in them, trying not to cry. She didn’t know what to make of it all—there was no way what Webby had told her was true. Magica had been defeated, and everything had worked out okay? She had a loving family now? That was just too </span>
  <em>
    <span>lucky.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena’s life didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> lucky. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only problem was, she didn’t think Webby would lie to her. So, either Webby was confused, that hadn’t actually been Webby, or it was… all true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She did seem to be in the future, though. Webby had looked a bit older than she was used to, and she couldn’t deny the fact that the eclipse was gone. Part of her was convinced that this was all some big mind game that Magica was playing on her while she killed Scrooge and took her body back, but Magica wouldn’t bother with something this elaborate just to torment Lena. Lena wasn’t worth that effort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby had seemed to think that maybe Lena had lost her memories of everything after that moment during the eclipse, which she supposed was possible, but why would the memory-erasure magic stop there? Did it just, like, run out of juice or something? Or had she literally been plucked out of her own time and dropped into the future? But then, where was the Lena that was supposed to be here? Was she back under Magica’s control?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena whined, clutching at her head. She didn’t know what to do, or who to trust, or even what was real, and she’d just run away from the only people around here who could help her because she was a stupid, pathetic coward. She didn’t even know if she’d be able to find Webby again in the winding streets of the city. Magica had been right—she really was nothing without her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You!” a voice suddenly rang out in the alleyway. Lena looked up, and saw a tall, broad man in a pitch black cloak, with burning yellow eyes shining through the hood to peer down at her. “You have some nerve, showing your face around me like this!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena sighed. See? Unlucky. “Look, dude, if you’re trying to mug me, I don’t have any money.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That seemed to give him pause. Lena almost thought he was going to leave her alone, until he leaned forward, completely overshadowing her small form. “You don’t recognize me, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um…” Lena gulped. This was bad; the fact that he had to ask meant she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to recognize him, and if Lena had to hedge a bet, she’d guess that they weren’t exactly good buddies. She had to play this carefully. “Of course I recognize you, man. What kind of question is that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? Then what is my name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside, Lena was panicking, but she managed to keep her expression cool. “Pff, you think I bothered to remember your name? Please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Plausible irreverence. Clever,” he said, eyes narrowing underneath his cowl. “Well, here’s an easier one for you—what </span>
  <em>
    <span>year</span>
  </em>
  <span> is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shit. He knew. How did he know? Wait, crap, Webby had mentioned something about her </span>
  <em>
    <span>fighting</span>
  </em>
  <span> someone. Was this…?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He seemed to taste her fear, and let out a rolling chuckle. “Ha! HA! This is what you </span>
  <em>
    <span>deserve</span>
  </em>
  <span> for messing with magic you don’t understand! Oh, if only I brought one of my spare gauntlets with me! But this is fine; I’ll just bring </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> to </span>
  <em>
    <span>them.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reached one of his massive hands out towards her, and Lena scrambled back, her head clunking against the dumpster behind her. But before the man could grab her, something fell down from the rooftops above them, slamming into the back of his skull and bouncing off. He let out a cry and stumbled to the side, clutching his head. Lena looked over at what had hit him, and her eyes widened as she saw Webby lowering herself into a fighting stance in the middle of the alley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Webby?” Lena cried. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>followed</span>
  </em>
  <span> me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I followed you!” Webby shouted as she went in for another pass on the man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>why?!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So that if someone—</span>
  <em>
    <span>hrah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>—tried to—</span>
  <em>
    <span>hya!—</span>
  </em>
  <span>kidnap you—</span>
  <em>
    <span>ow!—</span>
  </em>
  <span>I could beat—</span>
  <em>
    <span>ya!—</span>
  </em>
  <span>his stupid face in!</span>
  <em>
    <span> HA!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She punctuated the sentence with a flying kick straight to the man’s gut, and he was sent sprawling backwards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Webby added, shooting a glance over at her. “I know you need space sometimes, and I was trying to give you time to process, but when Phantom Blot showed up, I figured I’d better step in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s, um.” Lena blinked. “It’s okay. Uh, thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No problem!” Webby said. “Besides, you already broke his gauntlet earlier, so this should be a cinch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do not have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>conversation</span>
  </em>
  <span> whilst I am trying to </span>
  <em>
    <span>destroy you!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Blot roared, picking himself back up and charging at Webby. She lowered her stance, and as he drew near, sprang to the side, landing against the alleyway wall. Blot skidded to a stop and tried to turn to face her, but he was too slow, and Webby kicked off the wall, delivering a harsh left hook to the side of his head as she passed him. She landed on the ground a couple feet away, and immediately leapt back towards him, sweeping out his legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blot let out a grunt as he fell flat on his face, then pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. “You little pink </span>
  <em>
    <span>pest,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he spat. “You got lucky this time, Child of Shadow. Let’s see how long that lasts.” Then he threw something onto the ground, and in a puff of smoke, he was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good riddance,” Webby mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who… Who was that?” Lena asked, shakily standing up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Phantom Blot,” Webby said derisively. “Magica hurt him a long time ago, and now he wants to remove all magic from the world because he thinks it’s inherently evil or whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena scoffed. “Well, I can’t exactly blame him. Magic’s done </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> a fat load of good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, you—” She stopped short. “Actually, nevermind. Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm? Oh. Uh, yeah, thanks to you. You stepped in before he could pull anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t really talking about Blot,” Webby said. “Are you… you know. Doing better now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It clicked, and Lena was suddenly hit by a wall of shame. “Oh. You’re talking about how I ran off like an idiot, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not an idiot, Lena,” Webby said immediately. “But, seriously. Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I, uh.” Lena sighed. “I think I’ve managed to convince myself that all of this is really happening, so I guess that’s… a start. I still don’t really know what to think of it, though, or what to do. Magica’s… really gone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, she isn’t, like, dead or anything,” Webby said, then added, “Unfortunately. But she doesn’t have her powers anymore. She can’t hurt anyone any longer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Good.” Lena swallowed, looking around the alleyway. “Uh… Where’s Violet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby pursed her beak. “She went home. She’s not as fast as me, and—well, I think that you not, um, remembering her kind of got to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Lena said. “So, um…” She trailed off and looked away from Webby, not quite knowing what to say now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s getting late,” Webby said after a few seconds, her voice soft. “You should probably go home too. Don’t want to miss dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not hungry,” Lena said quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a lie. Lena couldn’t really remember the last time that she hadn’t been hungry. She got the impression that Webby saw right through her, but she didn’t call her out. “Okay,” she said simply. “You should still be getting home, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t—I don’t know where I live.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. I can walk you there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t want to take you out of your way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena,” Webby said. The name had weight to it as it tumbled from Webby’s mouth, and it dropped hard onto Lena’s toes, making her wince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to go to… Violet’s house,” Lena said, looking away. “I don’t think—I—I don’t know. It’s stupid.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m stupid. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Hey, it’s okay. I understand,” Webby reassured. “You can come back to the mansion with me instead. It’ll be a sleepover, okay? You’ve done those before! Familiar territory!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—okay.” Lena swallowed. Her hand went to the bracelet around her wrist, and she twisted it back and forth, scratching it against her skin. “Okay. Sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great.” Webby smiled. “Don’t worry, Lena. It’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby seemed so confident; so assured. Lena wondered how she did it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby reached out to give Lena’s shoulder a short, reaffirming squeeze before turning to leave the alleyway, and Lena was silent as she followed her towards the great, looming silhouette of McDuck Manor off in the distance.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena watched from the bedroom doorway as Webby grabbed a jacket and a martial arts gi out of the closet, shrugging the former onto her shoulders and folded the latter up into her backpack. Lena’s eyes dragged across the room, surprised with how much she recognized. The knife rack that Webby had mentioned hung on the wall to Lena’s right, displaying a collection of daggers, some of which definitely looked familiar, and a lava lamp was prominently displayed on the dresser, just like Lena’s old one, except this one was pink. Looking into the closet, Lena could see that she apparently still wore the same style of sweater, which was somewhat comforting. She also spotted a leather jacket, which isn’t really the sort of thing she would’ve pictured herself with before, but now that she thought about it, she probably rocked the hell out of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Webby continued gathering up all the stuff you needed to gather up before leaving the house when you were an adult, Lena’s gaze wandered over to the bed, and stopped on a big stuffed unicorn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, is that Mr. Murderhooves?” Lena asked, pointing at the plushie. “The one Louie got you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Webby looked over, stuffing a wallet into the pocket of her jacket. “Oh, yeah! Or, well—the one Louie got me, Mr. Murderhooves Sr., was unfortunately lost in an accident a few years ago. But then you got me Mr. Barnaby Murderhooves a little bit later as a replacement, and he’s even </span>
  <em>
    <span>bigger.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena examined the plushie. Now that she was paying attention, she noticed it was almost twice as big as the Mr. Murderhooves she remembered. “Wow. He really outgrew his father, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. He gets it from his mom’s side.” Webby scratched the unicorn on the head, right behind the horn, and then patted her pockets before shouldering her bag. “Alright, I think I’m all set. Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby led her out of the apartment, locking up behind her, and they started descending the stairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is nice,” Webby said. “Normally, you always complain about using the stairs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. I wasn’t aware I was allowed to complain about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby laughed. “Aw, come on, Lena. I may be a few years older than you, but I’m still Webby, and you’re still Lena.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, in that case, we should’ve taken the elevator,” Lena said. “Taking the stairs sucks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“There</span>
  </em>
  <span> it is,” Webby said. “You need the exercise anyway. Never know when you might have to run for your life!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reassuring.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They reached the ground floor soon enough, and Webby led her out to the parking lot and towards an extremely average-looking blue car. There were three types of cars in Lena’s mind: pickups, vans, and normal cars. This was a normal car. If you wanted to know literally anything else about it, ask someone who knew more about cars than Lena did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She settled into the passenger’s seat as Webby started the thing up, shifting it into reverse and pulling out. Lena watched her man the wheel with a degree of fascination. “God, this is reminding me that I’m gonna have to start learning to drive soon. I’ve been avoiding it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, exciting, huh?” Webby said. “Don’t worry, I don’t think you ever crashed or anything when you were learning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena frowned. “Should you, uh, really be telling me stuff about my future so flippantly like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby shrugged. “I think I kind of blew that already when I told you we were engaged.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh.” Lena’s mind was sent into a swirl again at the mention of their future… </span>
  <em>
    <span>relationship. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Right, yeah, probably.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They settled into a comfortable silence as Webby navigated through the city. Lena rested her chin in her hand, looking out the window as Duckburg rolled on past. In many ways, it was the same Duckburg she knew; but every so often, a mattress store would turn into a coffee shop, or a condemned building would now be undergoing renovation into a supermarket, and these upsets were just frequent enough and just drastic enough to give the entire city an uncanny </span>
  <em>
    <span>offness</span>
  </em>
  <span> to it—like someone had rebuilt Duckburg for a movie set, and taken some artistic liberties here and there. A facsimile of what Lena knew, just barely different enough that she knew it wasn’t hers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then she caught sight of a towering business building, with </span>
  <b>Louie Inc </b>
  <span>plastered on the front in big blocky letters, which almost made Lena audibly groan. The twerp really went and did it, huh? Well, good for him, she supposed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So…” she said eventually, as Webby slowed to a red light. “You have a job now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A couple,” Webby answered. “I teach various martial arts and self-defense classes around the city. I also participate in the local martial arts tournaments from time to time for some spare prize money if we ever need a boost.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena snorted. “I bet the second-best fighter in Duckburg just loooooves it whenever you show up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby laughed. Lena was startled by how… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Webby</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was. She guessed there were some things that didn’t change after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s actually a disputed title,” Webby said. “There’s some tight competition near the top. But yeah, I’m pretty sure they all hate me. That’s on them, though; if they don’t like it, they should learn how to win against me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A thought occurred to Lena, and she turned wide-eyed to Webby. “Wait. Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a job now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep!” Webby said. “You’re Duckburg’s finest witch for hire. Also its only witch for hire, but you know what I mean. You’re your own boss, so no need to worry about calling in sick or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a relief,” Lena said. “I wouldn’t want to ruin her career or anything. Uh, my career?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t think about it too hard,” Webby advised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.” Lena cleared her throat. “So, what exactly does a witch for hire get, you know, hired for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, well, everything, really,” Webby said. “There’s a lot of requests for potions, simple enchantments, that sort of thing. Sometimes people want you to, like, rejuvenate their dying gardens that they started as a new year's resolution and haven’t kept up with, or un-break their mother’s favorite vase before she gets home from vacation… I mean, magic can do a heck of a lot, you know, and you’re the best there is! Or, you will be, at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh. I guess I was expecting it to be less… mundane?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, those exist too, for sure,” Webby said. “Every so often you’ll get a request to deal with some eldritch horror, or demon, or monster, or whatever, and then I’ll take time off work and we go on a little adventure. Keeps things fresh! Those also pay really well, too, which is nice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Makes sense,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> get a lot of requests for people who want you to hex or curse people they don’t like,” Webby said. “Mostly exes, in-laws, and bothersome neighbors. But usually you don’t take those.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Usually?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I believe your exact words were, ‘only if they really have it coming.’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena hummed in approval. “You know what, I stand by that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’d hope so,” Webby said with a giggle. “I’m afraid this is where we part ways. Text me if you need a ride back; I get off at four.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Lena said as Webby pulled into the driveway of a small suburban house. “Uh, sounds good. Thanks, Webby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No prob, bob,” Webby said as Lena undid her seatbelt. Then she turned a classic Webby smile onto her, her eyes shining with that genuine care that not even years of secret spy training could fake. “Don’t worry, Lena. We’ll fix this. I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena managed a smile. “Thanks, Webby,” she said. “Old me is lucky to have you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slipped out of the car and threw the door closed behind her, looking up at what was, supposedly, Violet’s house. This should be… interesting.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry if the pacing feels slow on these. It's hard when each chapter is split into three separate storylines, but I think more frequent updates is the preferable way to go here rather than dropping like a 10,000 word chapter each month or something.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Innate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena reminisces. Lena returns to McDuck Manor. Lena speaks with Violet.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena breathed in and out methodically, listening to the waves crashing against the shore, and trying to ignore the distant screams of Duckburg’s citizens as Magica’s spells ran wild. She felt her core pulsating within her, an immature knot of shadows and fear, and gingerly prodded at it with her mind, coaxing the shy thing open. Then, she began the delicate process of shoving out all the thoughts about Magica and the Shadow Realm and her life on the streets, and replacing them with more positive memories. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought of Violet, who was the best sister anyone could ask for, and also the worst sister ever. How she used to quarter out rows in the brownie pan when they were kids, using a ruler and a protractor just to make sure Lena didn’t eat more than her share; and then, only hours later, how she would stay up late with Lena when she was having a nightmare, telling her all about her latest research project to take Lena’s mind off things. Violet had admitted early on that she wasn’t the best at empathy, but even if she didn’t always understand the things that Lena was going through, that didn’t stop her from trying her best to be there for Lena, and to help her through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought of Ty and Indy, and all the charity they’d shown her, taking her under their wings. All the long, uncomfortable talks they’d had to sit through with her, all the abrasive, misdirected teenage angst they’d endured from her, all the times they’d had to deal with the magical disasters and supervillains that came with being in proximity to Lena. How they’d spent hours and hours on the phone trying to find a therapist who would be a good match for her, because they didn’t care about anything more than making sure she was comfortable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought of the triplets, who’d always treated her like just another kid, always able to make her laugh. How Huey had, multiple times, nervously sought her out when Violet wasn’t home, stuttering over words, and asked her for advice about suspiciously specific hypotheticals. How Dewey had never seemed creeped out by her at all, instead gushing about how cool her magic was and asking her to sneak him into Featherweight concerts. How an insomnia-plagued Louie had run into her in the kitchen at 3 AM during one of her sleepovers with Webby and offered her a Pep in solidarity, not even questioning why she was up. How excited all of them had seemed to find out she would soon be their sister-in-law.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she thought of Webby. God, Webby. Lena peeked one eye open, and caught sight of her over on the other side of the pier, whispering with her siblings. She seemed so small; so young. But she was so, so strong, even here, ten years in the past.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena thought of Webby, being a friend to her when no one else was. How she’d fought tooth and nail against Magica at the height of her dark power, all in Lena’s name. How she’d made weekly trips to the library to read up on the Shadow Realm whenever she had spare time in between adventures. How she’d hugged Lena tightly and cried into her sweater when she’d finally been brought back. How she’d helped Lena through her nightmares, both natural and Magica-induced. How she’d stood by Lena’s side as she’d faced down the Phantom Blot, again and again and again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought of Webby, twiddling her thumbs and blushing like the sun, asking if Lena maybe, perhaps, wanted to, you know, um, get dinner with her sometime? How she’d sat on the other side of a candle-lit table from Lena, admitting she didn’t know if she even liked anything this place served. How she’d giggled and agreed that, yeah, maybe Lena was right, and they should just ditch this place and go out for hamburgers instead. How she’d pressed her beak against Lena’s as they held hands under the evening sky, awkward and clunky and perfect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought of Webby, driving around the city with her as they scouted out apartments. How she’d spent all day helping Lena decorate the place they’d finally moved into, because ‘The mansion was nice, but I want this place to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>ours!’</span>
  </em>
  <span> How she’d stay up late with Lena on the weekends, snuggled up under a blanket on the couch, watching just whatever on the television. How she’d fall asleep on Lena’s lap, and Lena would have to carry her to bed, planting kisses on her forehead as they went. How Webby would giggle when she did, because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> still asleep, one hundred percent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought of Webby, bursting into tears and collapsing against Lena at the sight of the engagement ring, before Lena could even ask the question. Sobbing enthusiastic yeses into her sweater and repeating over and over again how much she loved Lena. She thought of Webby promising that they’d spend the rest of their lives together, and Lena knowing with all of her being that she meant it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That did it. There was an explosion inside Lena as her inner magic burst forth, rushing out of her core and throughout her entire body, eventually spilling out in a wave of bright blue light. And Lena changed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sheer rush of unleashing her innate magic was pulling her towards her Super Sorceress form, but she didn’t want to waste all that magic on a costume change, so she reigned herself in. Instead, she simply felt her body stretch and fill out, growing taller and more mature; the process happened almost entirely subconsciously, now that the magic that constructed her material form finally had enough power to change to match her mind. Her hair lengthened, too, spilling down her back, and—well, she did use a </span>
  <em>
    <span>teensy</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit of the power from the magic surge to have her hair braid itself into twisting strands of white and pink, and she summoned a small ring of hard-light magic to secure it. It would get in the way otherwise, you know? Practicality and all that. The fact that it looked cool was just a bonus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena!” a quartet of voices called, and she heard the sounds of Webby and the boys running down the pier at her. Her magic surge dwindled as they reached her, comfortably settling back down into her newly-opened core, and the glow subsided.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked down at the four of them and smiled. “Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah,” Dewey said, blinking up at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy crap, you’re really magic,” Louie mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Huey’s beak was hanging open. “Wow, you look…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beautiful,” Webby said breathlessly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Lena said with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this really what you look like?” Dewey asked. “Like, in the future?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” Lena affirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” Huey looked out nervously towards the money bin. “Do you think you can beat Magica?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably,” Lena said, rolling a shoulder. “But I bet I could use some help.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena followed quietly behind Webby as she led them up Killmotor Hill, through the gate and across the lawn, towards the towering mansion. For some reason, McDuck Manor seemed bigger than she remembered, and she crossed her arms self-consciously, shrugging her shoulders up against her neck. Her traitorous mind involuntarily flashed back to the last time she’d been here, which, from her perspective, had only been an hour ago, when she hadn’t been in control of her own body. She shivered, stopping in place and giving her head a shake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Webby noticed, because of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> she did, and gave her a concerned look. “Is everything alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s—I’m fine,” Lena said resolutely. “But I don’t think we should tell everyone about my whole… deal just yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Webby frowned at that. “Why not? They’d be able to help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want their help,” Lena said, bitterly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t deserve their help,</span>
  </em>
  <span> her mind said, unhelpfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… okay,” Webby relented. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. But promise me you’ll think about it, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Lena said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached the front doors, and Webby pushed inside, the two of them entering into the foyer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, perfect timing, Webby,” Mrs. Beakley said from out of sight, before stepping through one of the doorways, drying her hands on a hand towel. “Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Oh, and hello, Lena.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Lena said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena’s going to be staying the night tonight,” Webby said. “We’ve got plans, so we’ll probably have our dinner in my room if that’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena silently let out a breath of relief, feeling, once again, grateful to Webby. The last thing she wanted right now was to awkwardly impose on their family dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beakley didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic, however, beak twitching downwards. “I think it would be nice for you girls to join us. I can’t recall the last time Lena’s had a chance to catch up with the family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena squirmed. “I, uh…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe another day,” Webby said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Beakley persisted, “it’s not very polite to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said maybe another day,” Webby repeated, a kind of resolute finality to her voice that Lena had never heard before. She looked almost exactly the same, maybe a bit taller, but… Lena supposed she really had changed from the naive, socially-inept pushover that she’d been when Lena had first met her. And Lena said ‘naive, socially-inept pushover’ in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>nicest</span>
  </em>
  <span> way possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beakley let out a resigned sigh. “Well, fine. I’ll have Duckworth bring you your plates.” She turned and walked back towards the kitchen, but paused just long enough in the doorway to shoot them a look over her shoulder. “Have fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Granny,” Webby said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They made their way up to Webby’s room. Webby hopped up onto her bed, and Lena slid backwards into her desk chair. They were quiet for a few seconds, Webby tapping her hands against her lap, and Lena idly fingering at one of her sweater sleeves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” Lena glanced up. “You think I lost my memories?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I guess I don’t really know,” Webby said. “I wasn’t close enough to get a good look at whatever that artifact you broke was. It was small and circular, but… I don’t know. I doubt we’ll be able to find anything else out about what it was unless we ask the Phantom Blot directly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The creepy weirdo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, the creepy weirdo,” Webby confirmed. “I don’t think it’s a bad guess that it’s your memories that got lost, though. Blot wants to steal your magic, so he wouldn’t do something like, say, regressing your physical body, because that would make your magic less potent. But if you can’t remember how to </span>
  <em>
    <span>use</span>
  </em>
  <span> your magic…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m vulnerable,” Lena finished. “Great. I love feeling vulnerable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Lena,” Webby said softly. “I know this is hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, when has my life ever been easy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Webby gave a single, small chuckle. “Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before Duckworth knocked at the door, and then, when Webby told him to come in, phased through it, floating their plates over to them and then bidding them a professionally detached farewell. Despite her earlier claims that she wasn’t hungry, Lena dug into the food immediately; Webby, because she was nice, didn’t say anything, but Lena could feel her eyes on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to need a plan, Lena,” Webby said after a while, in between bites. “Phantom Blot isn’t going to give up, especially not now. He’ll be after you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena didn’t say anything, chewing at her food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He uses this… magic-sucking gauntlet,” Webby went on. “But he can use all the magic he stores up to shoot lasers and make shockwaves and stuff, which—while </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> hypocritical, mind you—makes it a lot harder for me to fight him on my own. You can usually beat him pretty easily, but if you can’t access your magic…” Webby looked away, eyes heavy. “I… I don’t know what would happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena poked at her plate with her knife. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, she supposed—she may not be under Magica’s control any more, but now she was at risk of having her essence absorbed by some crazy dude who dressed like a cult leader.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t even understand what you mean by ‘accessing my magic’ and all that,” Lena said. “The only way I can do that is by using Magica’s amulet. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> magic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We used to think that, too,” Webby said. “But we were wrong! You have your own magic inside of you, Lena. Magica just never wanted you to know about it. You haven’t needed the amulet for over a year now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s brow furrowed. “My… own magic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Webby was smiling at her now, eyes twinkling in that Webby way. “Magica may have created you, but you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than her. As your friendships with us kept deepening, it brought out your own unique magic, which is </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> stronger than Magica or Blot’s magic! You just need to access all those positive memories to bring it forth!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena gave her a flat look. “You mean those positive memories I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t have?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Er…” Webby giggled nervously. “Um. Yes. Those ones.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great. So I’m useless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena, no!” Webby said immediately, eyes widening. “You’re not useless!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I may as well be!” Lena retorted, throwing out a hand. “Unless we can figure out a way to turn </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> version of me into the </span>
  <em>
    <span>better</span>
  </em>
  <span> version of me who’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be here, I can’t even cast a single spell without that amulet! You think if Blot burst through that door right now, I’d be able to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to stop him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena, you may not have your magic, but that </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> make you useless,” Webby asserted, that colder, more mature confidence that Lena wasn’t used to hearing in her voice returning. “You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than your magic. You’re smart, and funny, and kind, and you’re my </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend.</span>
  </em>
  <span> None of that has changed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Webby, I—” Lena put a hand up to her forehead. “That’s very… </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice</span>
  </em>
  <span> of you, but none of that stuff is going to help us defeat him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not,” Webby admitted. “But calling yourself useless isn’t going to help either. When formulating a plan of attack, it’s important that you’re working with accurate information, which means that </span>
  <em>
    <span>you”</span>
  </em>
  <span>—she pointed a finger at Lena—“need to start giving yourself more credit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena scowled. “Look, Pink, I know you have this big, grand idea of the person I am, but I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not her,</span>
  </em>
  <span> okay? And maybe I would’ve become her eventually, but this </span>
  <em>
    <span>version</span>
  </em>
  <span> of myself you keep talking about—this Lena who uses her own magic, plays by her own rules, has friends and family, </span>
  <em>
    <span>loves</span>
  </em>
  <span> herself—it sounds like some ridiculous fantasy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t even in control of my own body,” Lena continued, setting her plate aside and standing up, moving over to the window and crossing her arms. “Just an afterthought in the crazy conspiracies of my lunatic aunt. And now you have all these </span>
  <em>
    <span>expectations</span>
  </em>
  <span> for me. I can’t change from a pathetic, spineless shadow who betrays her best friend into a spell-flinging, rainbows-and-friendship superheroine who battles the forces of evil in a day, Webby. Like, I get it. Future me is way better than I am. But telling me that isn’t going to help me become her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence. Lena stared out the window, out over Duckburg, and tried not to imagine the face Webby must have been making behind her. Disappointed, or guilty, or hurt, or indignant, or pitying, or—well, she supposed it didn’t really matter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Lena,” Webby said eventually. So, guilty, then, probably. “I… I didn’t mean to come off like I was pressuring you. It just hurts me to see you talk down about yourself like that when I know how amazing you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m sorry too,” Lena said bitterly. “Sorry you’re stuck with me instead of the Lena you actually like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena,” Webby said, and, yep, that was definitely hurt. Great job, Lena. Really nailing this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look,” Lena said, still refusing to look away from the window and turn the picture of Webby’s face in her head into a reality. “Blot isn’t going to attack tonight, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not stupid enough to attack you in the mansion, no,” Webby said softly. “Not after the last time he tried that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool,” Lena said. “Then maybe we should just get some sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s eight thirty,” Webby said skeptically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m tired,” Lena returned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Save it, Webby,” Lena said shortly. She walked over to Webby’s closet, grabbing the spare sleeping bag that was still kept in the same place she remembered. “We can talk more about how I hate myself too much to defeat Blot in the morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“…Fine,” Webby said, voice low. Lena risked a glance over at her, but Webby was already pulling herself under the covers, turned to face the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena turned away, too, laying the sleeping bag out on the floor and climbing in. She managed to keep from crying, but she balled her hands up in the fabric of the sleeping bag, a pit of nausea forming in her stomach. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid, stupid, stupid. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She screwed her eyes shut, praying that sleep would come quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena made her way up the driveway, admiring the meticulously-trimmed shrubs that lined the walkway up to the front door. She stepped up to a welcome mat on the porch, which read ‘The Doctor is In’ in big swoopy letters, which, like, okay, Vi, very cute. Everyone knows how early you got your PhD, no need to brag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena rang the doorbell. “Coming!” a feminine voice rang out, and a few seconds later, the door revealed… not Vi. An adult duck stood in front of Lena, but she wasn’t more than a few inches taller than her. She was wearing a simple red polo shirt, and had her hair in a ponytail, which was pulled back through the strap of her… red… hat?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena?” the woman asked, confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Huey?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena returned, beak falling open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you look like that?” Huey asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do—why do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> look like—um—”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena?” another voice called, and a purple hummingbird that could only have been Violet poked her head into the doorway, saving Lena from putting her foot in her mouth. “You’ve gotten shorter,” she observed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Violet had grown stockier over the years, no longer the bundle of twigs that Lena remembered. She stood a full head over Huey, who, of course, suffered from height-impairing McDuck genes, and peered down at Lena through a pair of small spectacles that rested on her beak. She wore a white lab coat over a light green turtleneck, her thick hair pulled back into its usual bun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, so, uh.” Lena cleared her throat. “Can I come in? We kind of have a situation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*    *    *</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena sat down next to Violet and Huey at their dining room table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want anything?” Huey offered as she sat down. “Sorry, I should’ve asked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh. I’m—I’m good,” Lena said, trying very hard not to stare at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Violet began, steepling her fingers. “I assume this ‘situation’ we supposedly have explains why you look like you’re fifteen again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m seventeen, actually, thanks,” Lena said. “But yeah. Got into a fight with Phantom Blot back in 2021, broke some weird magical pocket watch he had, and ended up here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Time travel?” Huey asked, turning pale. “Oh, god no. I thought I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span> with time travel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena nodded. “Right, Webby mentioned you and Boyd got into something a while back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most confusing day of my life,” Huey muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Days,” Violet corrected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Vi, I cannot stress how much I do not care about the details in this particular instance,” Huey said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Violet simply shrugged. “And perhaps that lack of diligence is precisely what made that situation so troublesome for you, Huey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Huey narrowed her eyes. “That’s not—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo. Nerds.” Lena snapped her fingers a couple times, drawing their attention. “Still here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apologies, Lena,” Violet said, clearing her throat. “Anyway, this is certainly a predicament you’ve found yourself in, but I believe, though research, diligence, and the scientific method, we can rectify this and send you back to your proper time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Okay, that’s good.” Lena felt some tension leave her body. She’d been half worried that not even Violet would have a clue what to do to fix this. “The future’s nice and all, but I kind of want to get back home. Except—wait, wouldn’t my knowledge of the future in turn change that future, even slightly? But what if it changes things in such a way that I’m never able to return in the first place? Or would that mean—okay, I see what you meant, Huey. This is confusing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right?” Huey let out a breath and stood up. “Sorry, I’m not sure if I’m going to be much help here. If it were a science thing, maybe, but this seems to be a magic thing, and that’s definitely Vi’s area.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some would argue that magic </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a form of science,” Violet proposed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>having this argument a fifty-seventh time,” Huey said, rolling her eyes. “More importantly, anyway, it also seems to involve a lot of metaphysical and theoretical time nonsense, which, again: that’s Vi’s area. I’ve got some lab reports to grade anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena looked up. “You’re a teacher?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m a science professor at the Duckburg Community College. Violet teaches there too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m also a science professor,” Violet added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Huey sighed. “No, you’re an </span>
  <em>
    <span>arcane studies</span>
  </em>
  <span> professor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which, as discussed in one of my very first published papers, is a science,” Violet said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Huey argued. “It’s not even listed as a science course!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Violet smirked. “Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh. Whatever.” Huey turned and walked out of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forgive her,” Violet said as she left. “Huelyn, like much of the broader scientific community, still has some issues accepting magic as a reputable discipline of study. They’ll come around, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, sure,” Lena said. “About Huey, actually; she’s… a she?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Violet blinked, seeming not to understand the question, before realization spread across her face. “Oh, right. Yes, she’s trans. I suppose she wouldn’t have come out in your timeline yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Lena said. “Can’t say I would’ve guessed. Though, I suppose I can see it, actually.” She paused again, turning to look at Violet. “And, you two are…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roommates,” Violet answered quickly, before letting out a sigh. “Truthfully, it’s complicated; we dated for several months a few years back, then mutually decided we’d be better as friends, and then we were in a queerplatonic relationship for a while, which briefly turned back into dating for a week or so, but… Well. The answer is that, currently, we’re just friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena stared at Violet with what she was sure was a look of complete befuddlement. “Okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough about me, though,” Violet said. “Let’s get back to the issue at hand. Tell me everything you know about the device you destroyed and what it did to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just glossing over that, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are,” Violet agreed. “So, the artifact?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Well, I don’t really know much, to be honest,” Lena said, pushing her friends’ complicated relationship out of her mind. “It looked like a small metal pocket watch. Phantom Blot said it was his secret weapon or whatever, and that he’d been planning to save it for a better time, but apparently he got impatient. Anyway, he hit this little button on the side and the hands started going crazy, so I took it from him and smashed it on the road and it exploded and then I woke up here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps in the future, you might consider not destroying unknown magical artifacts while they are active and volatile,” Violet said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena gave her a flat look. “Yeah, I got that, thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a few thoughts,” Violet went on. “I’m hesitant to make any assumptions, though, until we have more information. Firstly, we should try to determine whether you were sent here with your own body, or whether your consciousness was implanted into the body of your older self. It’s a subtle but important distinction, and it will be hard to proceed without knowing which is the case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean…” Lena frowned. “The first one, right? I still look like me. The older version of me doesn’t have a teenage body. At least, I hope not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s, ah, a bit more complicated than that,” Violet admitted. “We figured this out a few years ago, when I first started doing more robust tests on the nature of your magic. Lena, you don’t age. At least, not physically.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now Lena was just confused. “What? Yes I do. I’ve gotten taller and stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your body is a construct of shadow magic,” Violet explained. “It simulates a real, living body extremely accurately, because your magic shifts to fit your own self-perception. You know that people need to eat and breathe, so you eat and breathe, but if it really were to come down to it, you can’t starve or suffocate—your magical core generates its own energy, and you don’t have any real cells that require oxygen, or any blood to carry it. Fun fact, you actually exhale oxygen instead of carbon dioxide, because your body has no means to execute the chemical reactions that cause the traditional gas exchange. It’s all performative.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wh-what?” Lena stared at her. “That’s completely crazy. I mean—I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> my heartbeat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put your hand over where you think your heart is,” Violet said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s right here,” Lena said, moving her hand down to the center of her chest, just underneath her sternum. “I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> it, Violet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your heart, if you had one,” Violet said, leaning over the table, “would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>here.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She tapped Lena lightly on the chest, a full hand’s length above where Lena’s palm was, and a bit to the left. “What you’re feeling is your magical core.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s beak hung open. “But—but—I don’t understand. Is my body not real?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Violet settled back down into her chair. “It’s real; just different. We still don’t know every detail, since the testing we’d have to do would simply be too invasive for either of us to be comfortable with it, but our leading theory is that, essentially, Magica was lazy. She enchanted you to have a body, but she didn’t give a specific instruction of what that body should </span>
  <em>
    <span>be.</span>
  </em>
  <span> When your magical core matured enough to start forming a consciousness, the magic that makes up your body latched onto that consciousness as an imprint. You look the way you look because that’s the way you </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> you should look, and the magic that composes your body fluidly shifts to match your self-image. Did you ever wonder why your hair dye doesn’t seem to fade?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena didn’t quite know what to say. All she could come up with was, “Hair dye fades? I dyed my hair when I was twelve, I just… thought it was permanent?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For you, it is,” Violet said. “As soon as your own self-perception included your dyed hair, your hair actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>became</span>
  </em>
  <span> pink. The physical dye faded a long time ago, even from your point of view. Your age works in a similar fashion—your body doesn’t age, but, even subconsciously, as your mind ages, you expect your body to match. So, it does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You—2027 you, I mean—was just starting to learn how to consciously influence the aspects of your magic that control your physical body, but even she isn’t able to overpower the more strongly-ingrained perceptions she has of herself. It’s very possible that your seventeen-year-old mind was transferred to your twenty-three-year-old body, which immediately caused it to readjust to how you expect yourself to look.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Lena said slowly. “I think I understand that. But then wouldn’t both outcomes be functionally the same, regardless of which body I’m in right now? Why would we need to figure it out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because your core isn’t fluid,” Violet said. “It grows steadily with time, and in turn, your raw magical power grows as well. If you’re inhabiting your older self’s body, you should have access to significantly more, and significantly stronger, magic than you’re used to controlling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s eyes widened. “Oh no. I see why you wanted to figure this out quickly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Er—yes.” Violet adjusted her glasses. “If you do indeed have access to an extra six years of magic, it would be good to know that </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span> you have to use it. Besides, I have a bet with Huey on which one of us will set the house on fire next, and I would very much not like to lose it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Lena said, kneading her hands into her legs under the table. “No, trust me, I don’t want to lose control of my magic any more than you want me to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Indeed.” Violet stood. “We should go to my lab and conduct a few tests. Follow me, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The ABSOLUTELY BANGING humanization art of the three Lenas was done by Eden! You can find them on <a href="https://lametrafficearring.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lametrafficearring/?hl=en">insta</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lametraffic?lang=en">twitter</a>, and more, probably! Thanks to them so much for drawing art for this story!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Shadows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena and co sneak into the Money Bin. Lena goes to sleep. Violet performs science on Lena.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena looked at the four kids in front of her, and put her hands on her hips, giving them what she hoped was an inspiring smile. “Alright, guys. So, fill me in: what’s the plan?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They looked at each other, and seemed to silently designate Huey as their spokesperson. “Donald and Mrs. Beakley are going after Magica on the houseboat,” Huey said. “Launchpad is going to try to come at her from the skies, and Gyro and Manny are going on foot. Or, uh, hoof.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena raised an eyebrow. “And you guys?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey let out a huff, crossing his arms and staring down at his feet. “Uncle Donald told us to stay put.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But we’re totally not going to,” Louie said. “We just need to find a way to get into the money bin without anyone noticing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why we were about to go look for you!” Webby said. “You’re great at breaking into places.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> knows the future,” Huey pointed out again. “So she can just tell us what we do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, I wasn’t around for this bit,” Lena said. “You guys were definitely able to sneak into Scrooge’s office at the top of the bin, but I have no idea how. Ordinarily, I could sneak you guys in through the shadows, but since this is Magica, she’d be wise to that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louie sighed. “Drat. Well, it beats me. It’s not like the place has a back door or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… I mean, unless—” Huey gasped, eyes blowing wide. “Unless it </span>
  <em>
    <span>does!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey raised an eyebrow. “It does?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t,” Webby said. “I’ve memorized the floor plans.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no! Gyro’s underwater lab!” Huey exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, of course!” Louie said, a smile breaking out on his beak. “We can dive down to the lab and swim up from there! Good job, nerd!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know it doesn’t sound like much of a congratulation when you still call me a nerd,” Huey said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s great, but how the hellllllck”—she cleared her throat—“How the heck are we gonna get down there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Scuba gear!” Webby said excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey frowned at her. “We don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>any scuba gear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure we do!” Webby chirped, undeterred. “There was a family who was gonna go scuba diving over there, but they got interrupted when their shadows attacked and left all their stuff!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pointed down the beach, where, sure enough, amidst a few half-finished sand castles, abandoned umbrellas, and empty towels, a pile of scuba equipment was laying on the sand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Huey said, blinking. “Huh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That feels a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> convenient,” Lena mumbled, but she quickly moved past it with a shrug. “Well, whatever. Come on; let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They rushed down the pier and down the beach, and Huey and Webby began sorting through the equipment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s in pretty good condition,” Webby said, looking at one of the masks. “This kind of gear isn’t made for deep-sea diving, obviously, but it should hold up well enough to take us to the lab as long as we move quickly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Huey had the JWG open to a page on scuba diving, because that stupid book had literally everything in it apparently. Huey instructed the rest of them on how to hook everything up, and they all started putting the equipment on—except Lena.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louie was the first to notice. “Uh, Lena? Everything okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena turned to him. “Hm? Yeah.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need help putting it on?” Webby asked. Then, her face dropped a little. “Or—are you not coming with us?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s heart broke at Webby’s sad look. She was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> adorable like this; it was, like, physically painful. She gave her a smile, though. “Don’t worry, Pink, I’m coming with. I just don’t need the gear. Remember that whole thing about me being a shadow?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“…Yeah?” Webby asked, confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, shadows don’t need to breathe,” Lena said with a smirk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?!” Dewey exclaimed from a few feet away. “Aw, no fair! Being a shadow sounds so cool!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena shrugged. “It’s aight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louie shivered. “Honestly, that just seems unsettling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You realize how many laws of science your existence breaks, right?” Huey asked flatly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, you love telling me,” Lena said, rolling her eyes. “I think you actually counted once. I forget the exact number though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it’s a lot,” Huey grumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the kids were all suited up, they dove into the ocean, angling down towards the bottom of the Money Bin. One of the large glass walls of the lab had been smashed open, no doubt as a result of Magica’s shadow minions, and the whole place was flooded. Lena felt a brief flash of frustration when she tried to fathom why Scrooge would keep all his most expensive scientific equipment surrounded by one of the largest bodies of water in the world, but she knew questioning Scrooge’s inane decision making was a never-ending rabbit hole, so she forcefully pushed that train of thought away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They swam into the lab, and Huey pointed towards the elevator doors, which were broken and sitting slightly ajar. Webby and Dewey pulled them open, and the five of them made their way up the waterlogged elevator shaft. The building had flooded all the way up to the ground floor, and they pulled themselves out into the fluorescent light of the hallway, dripping all over Scrooge’s nice tiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice thinking with the elevator, Huey,” Webby said, taking off the scuba gear and dropping it unceremoniously in front of a nearby vending machine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” Dewey said as the others followed Webby’s lead, taking off their equipment and dumping it on the floor. “But if the elevator’s busted, doesn’t that mean we’ll have to take the—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stairs,” Lena said with an audible groan. “God, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> taking the stairs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Finally, someone who understands me,” Louie said, shouldering a curved golden blade. “Stairs were invented by the government specifically to hinder me. I would be too powerful otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Louie, is that your khopesh?” Huey asked, pointing at the weapon over Louie’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I found it on the way,” he said, which earned him a trio of glares. He shrugged indignantly. “What?! We like Scrooge again!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena pinched her brow as they started climbing the stairs. “Louie, you’re ten. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why</span>
  </em>
  <span> do you have a solid gold khopesh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Found it in this big treasure room in the pyramid of Toth-Ra back in Egypt,” Louie said breezily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you stole it from a dead guy?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep,” Louie said. “Not like he’s gonna miss it. Plus he tried to kill me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The dead guy?” Lena raised an eyebrow. “The dead guy tried to kill you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>super</span>
  </em>
  <span> rude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe because you stole his khopesh,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louie rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They continued climbing in silence after that, clearing flight after flight of stairs. As they neared Scrooge’s office, though, Lena’s instincts were telling her something was off. She paused, looking around the stairwell, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena?” Webby asked, stopping and turning to look at her. “Is everything okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s when Lena saw it. “So… You guys were hit by Magica’s spell, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The one that made our shadows come to life?” Huey asked. “Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why do you still have shadows?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The four of them all looked down at their feet, and then, their cover blown, their shadows peeled themselves off the walls and floor, narrowing their angry red eyes as they bared their fangs. They lunged forward at their previous owners, but Lena was quicker, calling her magic up with barely a thought. She brought both her hands up in front of her, focused on the shadows attacking her friends, and then snapped her fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately, four spears of bright blue magic shot out from her body, stabbing into each of the animated shadows. They froze in place, stunned, and the kids took the opportunity to twist out of their grips. Then Lena clenched her fists, and the lances of magic connecting her to each of the shades turned an inky black as she absorbed the shadow magic that was powering the animation spells. She let out a low, satisfied “Aaaaaah” as she felt her core pulse with the excess magic, her eyes briefly clouding black.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the shadows had returned to the feet of their owners, she let her magic go dormant, and looked up to see the others staring at her with a wide range of expressions: Webby looked concerned, Huey looked shocked, Dewey looked awed, and Louie looked terrified.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What… did you just do?” Huey asked, breaking the silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, uh—jeez, how to explain this.” Lena hummed for a second. “Okay, so, I’m a shadow animated by Magica, right? And so are all of her little shadow minions. The spell that she initially cast to create me was far more powerful and sophisticated than what she’s using to create her shadow army, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty, they’re basically the exact same magic. The power I typically wield these days is my own personal magic, but my magical core is, at its deepest levels, a core of shadow magic. These shades she’s creating are also fueled by small cores of shadow magic, but they’re much weaker, so if I can force a magical connection between my core and theirs, mine will kind of… overpower theirs, and absorb its magic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby’s eyes lit up. “It’s like when a baby absorbs its twin in the womb!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pink, that is literally the worst metaphor I think you could have possibly given,” Lena said. “God. No. It’s not like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m with Lena,” Louie said, sticking out a tongue. “Gross, Webby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But basically, you ate them?” Dewey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I, uh—sure, dude,” she said, shrugging. “I ate them. Why not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> cool,” Dewey said, his eyes sparkling. “What else can you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe we should save the magic show for </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> we save our family?” Huey said, still eyeing Lena a tad warily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hat’s right,” Lena said. “Come on. These stairs aren’t going to climb themselves.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena lay in her sleeping bag, staring at the wall of Webby’s room and trying her best not to think. She let herself float away, like she did when Magica would shout at her for minutes or hours on end, or when the magic inside of her would flare up unexpectedly, reminding her of what she was just a bit too intimately, and she needed to get out, go, leave herself and her world behind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The beak at the bottom of her vision, the bangs falling in front of her eyes, the slow, almost nonexistently soft breathing, the scratch of the sleeping bag on bare legs, even the temperature of the room—all of it fell away. It wasn’t her beak; wasn’t her breathing. She wasn’t there. She was aware of all of it in the same way she was aware that Webby was also in the room, fast asleep by now, warm underneath the covers. Two bodies in a room. Simultaneous breathing. Objects in proximity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was cold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something buzzed in her pocket, and, mechanically, she brought out her phone. Actually, it wasn’t her phone. At least, not the shitty, near-busted one she was used to. The lock screen had a picture of her, Webby, and Violet smiling together at the camera, arms around each other. Lena stared at it blankly for a few seconds before her eyes dragged themselves over to the notification: a text from a contact titled ‘Dad 2’. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lena,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Violet told us what happened. I know you don’t know who I am, but I couldn’t help but check in on you. I know you probably feel alone right now, but try to remember that you have people you can count on who care about you. Text me or Ty if you need anything at all. In the meantime, have fun with Webby. I love you so much &lt;3</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared until the notification disappeared, her eyes feeling like a movie screen. Eventually, the screen went black, and she fell back onto her pillow. And then, finally, sleep came.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*    *    *</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lena ran through the streets, shoes tapping anxiously against the asphalt as she cut through the city. She took a bend into an empty alleyway, and glanced behind her, breaths coming through in hard, heavy gasps. It didn’t look like she’d been followed, though. Maybe she’d lost him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She slowed to a stop, resting her hands on her knees, sweat rolling down her face. This was bad. Where was Webby? Wasn’t Webby supposed to be here?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Then, a looming shadow fell across the alley, and Lena’s breaths stopped short. Phantom Blot turned the corner, leering at her with those piercing yellow eyes, and began to slowly approach.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lena’s heart thudded, and she scrambled backwards, only for her back to collide with a towering wooden fence that spanned the alley, cutting off her escape.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No!” she shouted, panic rising. “Get away from me!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, but Lena,” Blot said. “I’ll always be a part of you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And then one of his hands reached up to remove the cowl that obscured his face, and Lena felt her chest seize up as Magica de Spell smiled down at her, the rest of Blot’s cloak falling away to reveal Magica’s slender, dangerous form.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“NO!” Lena shrieked, turning to claw at the fence. “No! No, I’m not going back! I’m not—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lena, Lena, Lena,” Magica cooed, heels clacking on the concrete as she walked up behind her. “I thought you’d have grown out of this rebellious phase by now, but I suppose not. Well, that’s okay—we have a way to deal with petulant little puppets, don’t we?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Get </span>
  </em>
  <span>AWAY </span>
  <em>
    <span>from me, you—mmm!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lena was cut off as a coil of shadows wrapped around her beak, and her eyes widened in fear as more came for her, crawling towards her ears and eye sockets. She writhed and thrashed, but the tenebrous cords of magic held her down, and before long, she could feel the shadows squirming around inside of her, and she stood up, not of her own accord.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Magica was gone, the only sign of her the cackling laughter that echoed hollowly throughout the alleyway. The fence was gone now, too, and Lena, under Magica’s control, stomped back out into the street. Webby was there to meet her, staring at her and looking utterly betrayed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’d thought you’d changed,” Webby said, shying away from her. “I thought I was finally your friend.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Help!” Lena wanted to shout. “Webby, please, help me!” But nothing came out, of course.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“How could you have said those things to me?” Webby went on, looking away. Lena saw tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. “What we had… it was something special. And you threw it all away. Am I really that worthless to you? That you don’t even care if you hurt me?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No!” Lena wished she could scream. “No, Webby, you’re all I have!” she would have professed. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Instead, Lena felt her body stalking forward, hand reaching out and grabbing Webby by the collar. She struggled in Lena’s grip, but Lena was able to lift her off of the ground.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lena, please,” Webby cried. “I thought—I thought—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lena held her other hand up to Webby’s face. It shined a deep, sickly purple, and then a beam of concentrated magic shot out, hot and piercing.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena woke up screaming, shooting up in her sleeping bag, tears streaming down her face as messy sobs rolled from her chest up out her mouth. “W—Webby!” she cried, turning to the bed where she knew Webby should be sleeping—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Webby was already crouching down by her side, eyes wide and concerned. “Lena, it’s okay! It’s okay, I’m here. I’m not hurt. Everything’s alright.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena heard herself blubber something that not even she understood, and then threw herself into Webby’s lap, wrapping her arms around the girl and burying her face into Webby’s shirt. “I—I—you—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shhh,” Webby soothed, returning the embrace and rubbing circles on Lena’s back. “It was just a bad dream. I’m safe.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-you—” Lena hiccuped. “How do you kn-know what happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby smiled at her sadly. “When you woke up, you called my name and looked over at my bed to see if I was alright. I know the kind of nightmares you have, Lena. But I promise you, they’ll never come true. I’ll always be here with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m—I’m so s-s-sorry,” Lena sobbed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be sorry,” Webby said. “It’s okay to cry. Our minds can be mean to us sometimes. Especially yours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I mean—f-for earlier,” Lena said. “When I said all th-those mean things t-to you. You were just tr-trying to help, and—and I was being a b-bitch.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Webby paused for a second. “Well, in that case, apology accepted. I know you weren’t really mad at </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> anyway, it’s just—a tough situation. I understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m—I’m scared,” Lena choked out. “I’m so s-scared, Webby. I don’t know what to d-do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby leaned in, squeezing Lena tightly. “I know,” she whispered. “I’m scared too. But it’s okay to be scared. We still have each other. That’s what matters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was quiet for a long while, letting Webby hold her as she tried to get her tears under control. She didn’t deserve her. Lena didn’t even mean that in a self-deprecating way, or at least, not entirely; </span>
  <em>
    <span>nobody</span>
  </em>
  <span> deserved Webby. She was too good. The only beacon of light in the shadows of Lena’s shithole life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That probably explained why she was so afraid of losing her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Lena settled down a bit; she probably looked like hell, but the full-on sobs had cleared up, so that was good. She cleared her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do… You said I have nightmares a lot?” Lena asked tentatively. “I’ve never really had them before. Not like that. Not since the Dreamcatcher in the Other Bin.” Which was actually the last time she’d slept, now that she thought about it. It hadn’t really been a priority for Magica once she’d taken control of Lena’s body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s gotten a lot better over time,” Webby replied. “But, yeah, it was pretty bad for a while. I’m not surprised you had one tonight, considering.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When I… During the eclipse,” Lena broached. “When I was under Magica’s control. Did I…” The words idled in her throat—she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to ask them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you never hurt me,” Webby said anyway, because of course she knew what Lena had been thinking. “I think Magica fought with Scrooge briefly while she was using your body, but that was it. The next time I saw you, you were saving my life from Magica.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Lena said softly. “That’s… that’s good. I still can’t believe all of that just… worked out. It seemed so hopeless.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby sighed. “It didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>entirely</span>
  </em>
  <span> work out. After you saved me from Magica, she banished you to the Shadow Realm. We managed to beat her, but it still took me months to get you back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You—” Lena blinked. “You brought me back from the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shadow Realm?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“With Violet’s help,” Webby said, nodding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Webby, that’s insane. That place is dangerous. You—and after I’d lied to you for six months? Betrayed you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re my best friend, Lena,” Webby said. “I wasn’t about to lose you. Everyone else thought you were dead, but—but I could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. I knew you were still out there. I wasn’t about to give up on you.” She pulled back a bit from the hug, and looked Lena dead in the eye with unshakable resolve. “I’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> give up on you. Never. I don’t care if it’s Magica or Blot or whoever, if they try to hurt you, I’ll always be there to kick their ass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena let out a choked laugh. “Never thought I’d see the day a curse word comes outta that cute mouth of yours, Pink.” She let out a shaky breath. “God. You’re gonna make me cry again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Webby said. “You need to get those emotions out of that stuffy head of yours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena chuckled wryly, dragging a hand over her eyes as she finally got off of Webby. “Maybe you’re right. What time is it, even?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A little past midnight,” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess we should get some sleep for real, then, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably,” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena looked down at her sleeping bag and frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do… you wanna sleep with me in the bed?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena blushed. “Wh-what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s helped you in the past,” Webby said. “With the nightmares.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Lena crossed her arms. “Okay. And… maybe tomorrow, we could go see Violet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby smiled at her as she climbed into the bed, leaving plenty of room for Lena to slide in next to her. “That sounds great, Lena.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet led Lena into a laboratory towards the back of the house, with lots of expensive-looking equipment set up on the counters or just in the middle of the floor. Lena briefly wondered if the reason Huey and Violet had moved in together in the first place was so that they could build a science lab in their house for joint use. It would make sense. Or maybe it was because this house was close to the college where they both taught, and so they figured they may as well split the cost? Or was it a result of their… complicated relationship with each other?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena decided she’d better just not ask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Step inside here, please,” Violet said, indicating to a small raised platform, which had a large outward-facing computer interface and several devices that Lena couldn’t begin to speculate on attached to it via a complex and flimsy-looking infrastructure of small metal rods. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena obliged, stepping up onto the platform and looking nervously at all the various sci-fi looking implements that were now pointed at her. “And you’re sure this is… safe?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very,” Violet assured. She pressed a few buttons, and the invention whirred into being, several small LEDs lighting up green all around Lena. “This is my Thaumic Emission Analyzer. It will absorb a bit of your magic, but not nearly enough to drain you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Lena said. She trusted Violet; if she said it was safe, Lena was sure it was safe. “Do I just stand here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll need you to summon your magic,” Violet said. “No need to cast any spells, but the machine won’t be able to get a clean reading of your magic if it’s still locked up in your core.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Got it,” Lena said. “Tell me when to go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just a second, I’ve got to…” Violet trailed off, tapping away at the keyboard attached to the machine. “Alright. Go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena nodded, and closed her eyes, channeling her magic. But as soon as she began consciously drawing on her power, a veritable flood of magic crashed through her body, and without even meaning to, she burst into her Super Sorceress form, her hair flipping up in an unseen wind and the flowy white outfit exploding out around her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy—</span>
  <em>
    <span>ung—”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena strained to reign in the burst of magic, but managed to get it under control before she accidentally manifested any rogue spells. “Well, I certainly have more magic! Normally it takes a lot of concentration to power up enough for the costume change, but this time I couldn’t even stop it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Violet asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah,” Lena said. “Everything’s under control. Just took me by surprise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fantastic.” Violet continued clik-clakking on her keyboard, and the instruments surrounding Lena began to move, twisting and beeping and throwing faint red lasers across her body. “We’re getting great readings. Keep your magic up for just a couple more minutes, and we should be done here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena lifted a hand, a ball of blue fire flickering to life in her palm with barely a thought on her part. “Wow. With all this power, I bet I could blast Phantom Blot to the moon and back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You joke,” Violet said, “but I’ve done the calculations. You could probably get him into low earth orbit at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course you have,” Lena said, letting out a laugh. “Hey, so… If my mind ended up in this version of myself, does that mean that old-me is back in my body in 2021 now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a likely possibility,” Violet said. “It’s extremely difficult to outright destroy a manifested arcane consciousness as powerful as yourself. Not even Magica was able to completely eradicate your consciousness back during the Shadow War, and you didn’t even have a physical body anchoring you at the time. So, the consciousness of your older self almost certainly still exists somewhere, and your old body would be the most rational guess. Under different circumstances, I would say that it’s also quite possible her consciousness was trapped in the artifact itself, but since you triggered the spell by destroying the artifact, that isn’t possible. The worst case scenario that I think is within the realm of possibility is that she’s stuck in the Shadow Realm, though I find that somewhat unlikely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.” Lena thought about that. “Wait, if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> back in 2021, what if her actions change things? Wouldn’t that alter her own past?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s the thing,” Violet said. “The one part of this that doesn’t make any sense. Lena, I don’t have any memory of this fight we supposedly had with Phantom Blot where you broke this artifact. All evidence would point towards the fact that, in this timeline, it never happened in the first place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena furrowed her brow. “But—wait. Wait, shit, that’s a good point. How does that work?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure.” Violet narrowed her eyes, tapping a finger distractedly against the console as she stared at the screen. “It would seem to suggest, however, that nothing that comes of any of this will impact the timeline that we’re currently in. So as far as a paradox obliterating us from the timestream goes, I think we’re safe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I suppose that’s a relief,” Lena said. “I still don’t think I understand anything about what actually happened, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hopefully once these readings come through, we’ll have a better idea,” Violet said. “Speaking of which, you should be good to power down now. I think I gathered plenty of data.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena did so, her hair and outfit returning to normal as her magical aura retreated back into her body. Now that she had let it out, she could feel the vast well of power pulsing deep within her; it was almost overwhelming to think of how much magic she had at her disposal now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It will take several hours for the computer to parse the data and extract the information we need,” Violet said. “Magic is, unsurprisingly, difficult to work with. In the meantime, I was thinking we could grab a quick snack at a nearby bakery, and then head to McDuck Manor. Scrooge keeps all of his books on esoteric magical phenomena in his personal library; if the artifact that you destroyed is documented anywhere, we’ll find it there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stepped off the platform. “Sounds good. Well, mostly the pastries sound good. The research part sounds boring.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to fix this or not, Lena?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I do!” Lena protested. “I just don’t like reading. I’m not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>nerd.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet sighed, beginning to walk out of the lab. “I forgot how teenagery you used to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, come on,” Lena said, cracking a smile as she followed after her. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> I still call you a nerd in the future.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe you don’t,” Violet said. “Maybe you learned that it’s much more rewarding to be nice to your sister, and treat her and her interests with love and respect.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, no, no way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well.” Violet huffed. “It was worth a shot.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I always did wonder where they got that scuba gear from.</p>
<p>Thank everyone so much for reading! I'm taking next week off, so chapter 6 will come on the tenth.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Rendezvous</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena faces off against Magica. Lena has breakfast. Lena visits the best bakery ever.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> 2017 </em>
</p><p>Lena led the way as she and the Duck kids charged up the stairs, their encounter with the shadows giving them a renewed sense of urgency. Louie had even stopped complaining, something Lena had been starting to think would <em> never </em> happen.</p><p>“We’re getting close,” Louie announced suddenly as they rounded yet another flight. “It’s just two more floors to go.”</p><p>“How do you know?” Webby asked. “The floors aren’t numbered.”</p><p>“Which is <em> incredibly </em> irresponsible in terms of fire safety, by the way,” Huey said. “Not to mention confusing.”</p><p>Louie rolled his eyes. “Look, you do not want to <em> know </em> the amount of times I’ve had to climb these things. I’ve got a feel for it at this point.”</p><p>“Well, if we’re close,” Huey said, “we should start going over the plan for when we actually face Magica. Right, Lena?”</p><p>“Uhhh.” Lena glanced behind her at the four of them, looking up at her expectantly. “My plan was kind of just, you know, blast her in the face until she gives up?”</p><p>“Wait, didn’t you think this through at <em> all?” </em> Huey asked incredulously.</p><p>Lena threw her hands up. “Look, I’m not the plan person, okay? Besides, the first time around, you all jumped in recklessly and you only <em> almost </em> died. This’ll be fine!”</p><p>Louie frowned. “So, what, we just get up there and start trying to, like, punch her?”</p><p>“I think Webby did most of the punching, actually,” Lena said. “You guys are really good at running around and being annoying, which is actually very useful in a fight.”</p><p>Dewey pumped a fist. “Ha! Take that, Uncle Donald.”</p><p>Just then, Lena crested the top flight of stairs, and they burst through the door into Scrooge’s office—only to be met with a crowd of Magica’s shadow puppets.</p><p>“Thaaaat’s not good,” Huey mumbled.</p><p>Lena fired up her magic, narrowing her eyes as the shadows began to advance. But before she could cast any spells, someone let out a warcry and tackled the biggest shadow, grabbing it a choke hold around the neck and quickly dissipating it. </p><p>“Uncle Donald?!” Dewey exclaimed.</p><p>“Get away from my kids!” Donald shouted in a voice that was <em> definitely </em> not his own as he began to brawl.</p><p>Lena blinked. “Okay, what? Excuse me?”</p><p>She watched, stunned, as Donald wove in between the shadows, making short work of them. When he was done, he turned to face them, an animalistic expression still on his face.</p><p>Louie stepped forward, giving a trademark Louie Smile. “H-hey, Uncle Donald! We can explain!”</p><p>Donald’s expression softened. “Please, I told you not to come, so of <em> course </em> you came! And just when I need you.” Then, he finally seemed to notice Lena. “Um… and, sorry, who are you? You look familiar…”</p><p>“Long story,” Lena said. “I’m here to help.”</p><p>Donald opened his beak again, but before he could say anything, a fresh group of shadows swarmed into the room. He let out a growl, rolling up his sleeves. “You kids go save Uncle Scrooge. I’ll deal with these palookas. Remember: Ducks don’t back down!”</p><p>“See? I told you it’s a thing,” Dewey said as he followed his brothers towards the vault door. </p><p>Webby moved to run after them, but then paused, turning back to Lena. “Are you coming?”</p><p>“I don’t want to reveal myself to Magica just yet,” Lena said, summoning up her magic and staring down the shadow puppets. “I think I’m gonna harvest the magic from these guys, then swoop in while she’s distracted. Keep her busy for me, okay, Pink?”</p><p>Webby nodded. “Got it!”</p><p>She bounded out onto the diving board, and Lena turned back to face the shadows that were fighting with Donald. She ran forward, plunging her hand into the chest of the nearest shade and ripping out its core. She absorbed the magic, and fueled it into the same spell she’d used on the kids’ shadows back in the stairwell, sending spears of blue light shooting out into several of the nearby shadows and sucking up their essences. </p><p>“Woah!” Donald exclaimed as he finished off the last few shadows, giving Lena a wide-eyed stare. “You’re a sorceress?”</p><p>“I dabble.”</p><p>Just then, there was a scream from the bin, and the sound of a magic blast exploding. They both turned in alarm.</p><p>“Kids!” Donald shouted, taking off towards the entrance to the money bin. Lena followed, readying her magic at the tips of her fingers. Even after absorbing all those shadows, she had a lot less magic than she was used to; she’d have to play this carefully. Magica under the influence of the eclipse would definitely have the upper hand if it came to a ‘who can shoot the biggest laser’ contest.</p><p>She ran to the edge of the Bin and looked down to take stock of the situation. Dewey was lying on top of Webby in front of Magica, struggling to get to his feet as Magica charged up a blast, with Huey and Louie looking on in horror, too far away to intervene. Louie fruitlessly lobbed his khopesh at Magica, but she easily sidestepped the attack as she leveled her staff with a grin. Alright; not super great.</p><p>Lena threw out a hand, and a wispy trail of magic flew out towards Webby and Dewey, forming itself into a small shield just in time to block Magica’s laser. Webby grabbed her brother and leapt out of the way, and Lena instantly dropped the shield to conserve her power, leaving Magica’s beam to melt a small pile of gold where they’d been sitting. </p><p>“What?” Magica called, whipping around. “Who—”</p><p>“Webby!” Lena shouted, leaping from the diving board. “Get her!”</p><p>“On it!” Webby called back, and she rushed forward, swinging at Magica. Magica hastily blocked with her staff, then twirled it around, a shield forming in its wake to block Webby’s follow-up roundhouse. But Lena snapped her fingers, and Webby’s shadow curved under the barrier, mimicking the roundhouse and catching Magica right in the gut. </p><p>“Oomf!” Magica stumbled backwards, quickly levitating herself a few feet away from Webby and turning to glare at Lena. “Are you using <em> shadow magic </em> against me? Who do you think you are?!”</p><p>Lena smirked. “What, don’t recognize me?”</p><p>Magica narrowed her eyes for a second before a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head, and her face contorted in anger. <em> “YOU! </em> What are <em> you </em> doing here? Why do you look like that? How are you wielding that magic?!”</p><p>Lena answered her by shooting a small laser at her, which Magica quickly blocked. Webby took the opportunity to strike again, pounding at Magica’s shield and keeping her on the defensive. Lena gathered her magic up again, but this time molded it into something much more deliberate, and with a sharp sweep of her hand, she sent a wave of blue magic cruising out towards Webby and Magica. </p><p>Magica seemed to notice it, but she was too slow, and the wave hit her. In an instant, her barrier spell dissipated, and Webby was able to land a clean punch against Magica’s jaw. </p><p>“Ack!” Magica cried out. She grabbed Webby in her telekinesis, tossing her away, and turned to glare at Lena. “Did you just <em> dispel </em> my shield? Who taught you how to do that?!” </p><p>“My sister,” Lena answered smoothly. She caught Webby in telekinesis of her own, and swung her around, preserving her momentum and launching her straight back at Magica. She followed it up with another laser for good measure. “Just have to tune your magic to the counter-frequency of the spell you want to cancel.”</p><p>“Now you’re just talking nonsense,” Magica called as she sidestepped Lena’s blast and engaged with Webby once again. “You don’t have a sister! You’re not even <em> real!” </em> </p><p>Magica punctuated the statement by ducking under one of Webby’s kicks and nailing her in the back with a blast of magic, ripping a scream from Webby’s throat and sending her tumbling through the air.</p><p>“Webby!” Lena shouted, and she reached out with her magic to break Webby’s fall once again, but before she could, Magica fired a beam of magic as thick as a tree trunk out at Lena. She was forced to divert her magic back to herself, launching herself to the side with a burst of telekinesis. Lena cringed as she heard Webby thud down somewhere behind her, but didn’t even have time to glance over her shoulder to check if she was okay as Magica swung her arms over, redirecting the beam of magic onto Lena.</p><p>Lena swore, throwing her hand up to form a shield just before the laser could connect. Magica wasn’t letting up, though, and every second Lena kept this shield up she was burning magic. Needing an out, she quickly dove into the shadows. A ways away, she could see Webby struggling to her feet, and on the other side of the bin, the triplets stood, Huey holding Dewey back by the arm as Louie cowered behind the both of them. This wasn’t going like Lena had imagined; she needed to wrap this up before someone seriously got hurt. </p><p>She emerged from the shadows behind Magica, and with an explosion of magic, she burst into her Super Sorceress form. Her braid came undone, the pink turning into a cool blue as her long hair flowed out behind her, and her clothes shifted into a flowing dark blue cloak layered over a white and pink bodysuit. This form would drain her magic in a matter of minutes—but minutes would be all she needed. </p><p>Magica whirled around and sneered at her. “What now? And what on <em> earth </em> are you wearing?”</p><p>Lena sneered right back, raising a pair of hands that bubbled with bright blue magic. “Come on, <em> Aunt Magica. </em> Why don’t you see how real I can be?”</p><hr/><p>
  <em> 2021 </em>
</p><p>Lena woke up slowly, letting out small groans as she shifted in her bed. Something big, warm, and soft was laying against her body, Lena’s arms wrapped securely around it. She let out a groggy murmur, and reflexively pulled it closer, giving it a small squeeze as she bathed in its heat.</p><p>Then it giggled.</p><p>“HWUH?” Lena exclaimed, eyes snapping open. “Where am—who—” She stopped cold as she found herself staring directly into Webby’s mirthful eyes, and it all came back to her. Right; she was in the Manor, in the future, sharing a bed with Webby. And… holding her extremely tightly. “Oh my god! Webby, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”</p><p>Webby giggled again, cutting her off with a finger to her beak. “It’s okay, Lena. You’ve always been a cuddler. I’m used to it. Plus, it’s… nice.”</p><p>“What? I’m not a <em> cuddler,” </em>Lena denied.</p><p>Webby just smirked at her, and wriggled a bit, drawing attention to how Lena’s arms were still thoroughly wrapped around her.</p><p>Lena flushed, hastily untangling herself from Webby. “That’s—shut up.”</p><p>“If you ever want to snuggle, just let me know!” Webby said in a sing-song voice as Lena rolled out of the bed, rubbing at her eyes.</p><p>“Mmhmm.” Lena yawned, standing up and stretching. “Sure.”</p><p>Webby sat up, turning so her feet were kicking off the edge of the bed. “So! Breakfast?”</p><p>“Breakfast,” Lena agreed. “And then to Violet’s, right?”</p><p>Webby beamed. “Yep!”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>Lena pulled out her phone as they walked downstairs, thankful that her password was at least the same as on her old one. She pulled up her texts; the one her… <em> Dad </em> had sent her yesterday was still there, marked as unread. She tapped it, and took a deep breath.</p><p><em> Thanks for checking in, </em> she wrote. <em> Webby and I are gonna come over in a bit. </em>She sent the text, then slipped the phone back into her pocket, following Webby into the kitchen. </p><p>“What do you want?” Webby asked as she fished a box of Lucky Charms out of the cupboard. “We’ve got pretty much everything.”</p><p>Lena hummed. “I’ll have some of that too,” she said, gesturing towards the cereal.</p><p>“Okay!” Webby chirped. “I can’t blame you, it <em> is </em> the best cereal. No matter what Louie or Huey says.”</p><p>“Pshh.” Lena waved a hand dismissively. “Who cares what they say.”</p><p>“Exactly!”</p><p>Webby set to work making their breakfasts while Lena leaned awkwardly against the counter. She would’ve helped, but she didn’t really know where anything was around here, so she’d probably just get in the way. Webby didn’t seem to mind, though, humming a cheerful tune to herself as she poured the milk.</p><p>Before long, they were seated at the table eating. Lena made it about halfway through her bowl before Beakley stepped into the room, looking the two of them over and smiling politely.</p><p>“Ah, hello, girls,” she said. “Sleep well?”</p><p>“Uhh.” Webby gave a nervous glance over towards Lena, who just looked down and away.</p><p>Beakley frowned. “Is something wrong?”</p><p>“No, no, nothing’s wrong!” Webby said hastily. “It’s just—um—” </p><p>Lena sighed. “It’s okay, Webby.” She looked up and met Beakley’s eyes. “We… might have a bit of a problem.”</p><p>One of her eyebrows climbed above the rim of her glasses. “What manner of problem?”</p><p>So they launched into an explanation, Webby explaining what happened during the fight with Phantom Blot as best she could, and Lena describing how she suddenly found herself in the future. Mrs. Beakley listened intently, her face schooled into a perfectly neutral expression, and only speaking up to ask the occasional clarifying question. </p><p>“Well,” she said once they were finished. “That certainly is a problem, yes. How are you doing, Lena? I can’t imagine this has been very easy for you.”</p><p>“Oh, um—” Lena looked over to Webby, and a soft smile graced her beak. “I’m doing alright. A lot better now than I was.”</p><p>“I’m glad to hear that,” Beakley said. “I can talk with Scrooge to see if he might know of any artifacts that Blot could have used to cause this. Perhaps I’ll enlist the boys to help me comb through his personal library.”</p><p>Webby sighed in relief, turning it into a smile. “Thanks, Granny. That’s a good idea. We were going to head over to Lena’s house soon to meet up with Violet and try to come up with something. Maybe we can compare notes tonight?” </p><p>“That sounds good,” Beakley said with a nod. “Be careful, though. Especially you, Lena—don’t go out alone, alright? We can’t risk Blot getting his hands on you at the moment.”</p><p>Lena nodded. “I understand.” </p><p>Mrs. Beakley left after that, and Webby and Lena finished up their cereal.</p><p>“That went well,” Lena said. “I kind of thought she hated me.”</p><p>“What!?” Webby’s eyes bugged out. “No! Granny doesn’t hate you! Why would you think that?”</p><p>“Well, I mean…” Lena shrugged. “She <em> already </em> thought I was a bad influence, and that was <em> before </em> she knew I was a shadow-spy taking advantage of her granddaughter to put her family in mortal danger. And, like—I don’t know. I guess I can see how you and the dorks would forgive me, but your grandmother never struck me as the, uh… <em> forgiving </em> type.” </p><p>Webby pursed her beak. “Hmm… Well, no, you’re right, she’s not super forgiving. But she also has a complicated past, and you two actually have more in common than you might think. She knows you were being manipulated by Magica. But even so, when you had a chance to rebel against her, you took it, and fought to protect the people you love—and <em> that </em> is something that Granny can really appreciate.”</p><p>“I guess,” Lena said. “What’s this about her past, though? Isn’t she just, like, the housekeeper?”</p><p>“Oh, no, she’s an ex-superspy,” Webby said. “And she was tied up in some nasty stuff related to F.O.W.L., which is this whole evil group that we had to deal with a while ago. The Phantom Blot used to work with them, so you can imagine how annoying they were. I didn’t even know about a lot of the stuff involving Granny until we were in the middle of taking them down, though. It was… kind of a mess. On the plus side, I have sisters now!”</p><p>Lena blinked. “What?”</p><p>Webby laughed. “Yeah, there’s a lot there, but I don’t think we have time to really get into it right now. We should head over to Violet’s.” </p><p>Lena agreed, and they put their plates in the sink before heading out the door. “So, are we walking?” she asked.</p><p>“Hm? Nah. It’s a bit far for that.”</p><p>“Then—oh, god, no,” Lena mumbled as she saw the black limousine in the driveway, and the broadly-built duck sitting behind the wheel.</p><p>“Hi Webby! Hi Lena!” Launchpad said, leaning out the window. “Need a lift?”</p><p>Lena groaned. “We should’ve walked.”</p><hr/><p>
  <em> 2027 </em>
</p><p>Violet’s car was purple. Lena found this hilarious.</p><p>“I don’t see what’s so comical about it,” Violet said flatly from the driver’s seat as Lena chuckled to herself, turning out onto the road. “Lots of people have purple cars.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Lena said, “but not only do you have a purple car, you <em> are </em> purple, and you’re also <em> named </em> purple.”</p><p>Violet shot her an unimpressed look. “Excuse you. Purple is a result of mixing red and blue wavelengths, while violet denotes—”</p><p>“—a specific range of independently distinct wavelengths, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it a million times. You’re still purple,” Lena said. “So, what, did Dads get it for you?”</p><p>Violet shook her head. “Actually, I got this after I helped save Scrooge’s life during an impromptu adventure. He said that he owed me one, and so I said that if he was offering, I could really use a new car.”</p><p>Lena raised an eyebrow. “And he went for that?”</p><p>“Well, I was holding his arm as he dangled off the edge of a cliff at the time.”</p><p>“Vi, you are one scary negotiator,” Lena mumbled. “What’s this bakery we’re going to? Is it a new one?”</p><p>“New from your perspective,” Violet replied. “It’s the best bakery ever.”</p><p>“Wow. That’s high praise from someone who hates using hyperbole.”</p><p>“No, that’s its name,” Violet corrected. “The bakery is called The Best Bakery Ever.”</p><p>“Oh,” Lena said, furrowing her brow. “That’s confusing.”</p><p>“Extremely,” Violet agreed. “I’ve tried taking the issue up with the owner, but he remains obstinate. Alas, while I wouldn’t say it is the best bakery ever, it is quite a good one, so I find myself reluctantly returning there in spite of the boastfully inaccurate name.”</p><p>Violet turned into the downtown Duckburg shopping center, and pulled up in a parking spot that, sure enough, was outside a store that had ‘The Best Bakery Ever’ displayed in prominent lettering on its front. They got out, and Lena followed Violet into the bakery, a bell on the door chiming pleasantly as they entered. It was a nice place, with a few small tables by the windows, a soft green wallpaper, and some cozy lamps hanging from the ceiling. A display case by the counter showed off a large array of fresh-smelling baked goods, and to the right of it was the cash register, complete with a soulless-looking teenager who looked up at them and sighed. She left the register and opened a door behind the counter.</p><p>“Hey, boss!” she shouted. “Your weird friends are here!”</p><p>“Thanks, Marissa,” a smooth voice called back, steadily growing closer. “You can chill for a bit, I’ll take them.”</p><p>Marissa slipped through the door, and was replaced by a duck who could only be Louie, dressed up in a green suit that he was wearing an unzipped hoodie over, in a slightly different  shade of green. He met Lena’s eye, and frowned. “Woah. Throwback. What happened to you?”</p><p>“Louie?!” Lena exclaimed, incredulous. “You work at a bakery?”</p><p>“Excuse you, I do as little work as possible here,” Louie said. “And I <em> own </em> the bakery. You should know all that already, though.”</p><p>“Lena here ran into some time magic back in 2021, and was transported into her future,” Violet explained. “Which, as you can see, is our present.”</p><p>“Oh jeez, you don’t need my help, do you?” Louie asked, his frown deepening. “I promised Mom forever ago that I’d never mess with time travel again, and I very much would like to stay true to that.”</p><p>“No, we’re just here for a quick snack before heading over to the Manor for some research,” Violet said.</p><p>“Phew.” Louie immediately relaxed. “Well, <em> that </em> part I can help with. The snack, not the research. Research sucks.”</p><p>“Wait, but—” Lena blinked. “I saw that big building, Louie Inc? I thought—”</p><p>“Oh, that,” Louie said, waving a hand. “Yeah, that was a good learning experience, but being a CEO of a major corporation is actually, like, a <em> ton </em> of work and really stressful? So I sold it after my first year and opened a bakery.”</p><p>“But… it’s still called Louie Inc,” Lena said.</p><p>“Oh, yeah, I put in the contract that they weren’t allowed to change the name. I also tried to make it so that you had to legally change your name to Louie if you became CEO, but their lawyers disputed that part, sadly.”</p><p>Lena just stared at him. “Aren’t you, like, twenty? Shouldn’t you be in college right now?”</p><p>“College is for losers,” Louie said. “Like Huey.”</p><p>From the side, Violet coughed.</p><p>Louie rolled his eyes. “Right, sorry. College is for losers like Huey and Violet. Didn’t mean to exclude you.”</p><p>“Do you <em> want </em>to be cursed?” Violet asked.</p><p>“Honestly, the last curse you put on me wasn’t even that bad,” Louie said. He turned back to Lena. “Anyway, I took a couple years of intensive business courses when I was, like, seventeen or whatever, then I founded Louie Inc, and I ran that for about a year before I quit and started this place up.”</p><p>“You built up a megacorporation in a <em> year?” </em> Lena asked.</p><p>“Eh, I wouldn’t call it a <em> megacorporation,” </em> Louie said with a shrug. “But, yeah, it’s crazy how easy it is to do that when you’re able to take out millions of dollars of low-interest loans from your absurdly rich great uncle.”</p><p>“Your privilege is showing,” Violet said easily.</p><p>“I mean, that’s part of why I sold it, too,” Louie admitted, leaning forward on the counter. “All that money, and all it was doing was making more money, which made more money… Once you have that much, it just gets gratuitous, you know? I don’t know why Scrooge even does it, honestly. When I was younger, I wanted to be just like him, swimming in mountains of wealth; being poor sucked, so being rich must rock, right? But, like, I don’t know. Once you have enough that you don’t have to worry about money any more, it’s just… what’s the point? I wasn’t even doing anything. I was just sitting in an office making phone calls. And sure I was <em> good </em> at it, but it wasn’t exactly fulfilling.”</p><p>“So you sold the company and… started a bakery?” Lena asked incredulously. “Just like that?”</p><p>“Yep. It’s pretty easy to get a successful bakery started, actually,” Louie said. “First, you buy some prime real estate in the middle of the bustling Duckburg shopping district for dirt cheap because the place is <em> super </em> haunted. Then, you hire your sister’s girlfriend at a family discount to de-haunt the joint. The total cost is <em> way </em> less than I would’ve paid for this building normally. After that, you scout out some of the best bakers in town, offer them a generous wage to win them over, and then arm them with Mrs. Beakley’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, among others. Then find some bored highschoolers and college students who already have the proper apathy required for customer service, and boom! A little bit of management and business know-how, and you’ve got yourself a job where you’re surrounded by the smell of fresh baked goods all day. And let me tell you, pastries taste <em> way </em> better than money does. Plus, it’s a lot cozier, the people are more down to earth, we’ve got a TV in the back… Maybe I’ll get bored of it eventually, but for now, I’m living the dream.”</p><p>“…Huh,” Lena said.</p><p>“Yep.” Louie tapped something on the register. “So. What can I get you?”</p><p>“Uh, I’ll take a chocolate croissant,” Lena said.</p><p>“Raspberry danish,” Violet said. “And make it to go. As much as I would love to stay and chat, we should get to the mansion sooner rather than later if we want to get to the bottom of this.”</p><p>“No prob,” Louie said as he started gathering up and bagging the pastries. “I’ve got an episode of Ottoman Empire: Revolution of the Armchair Knights paused in the back that I’m itching to get back to anyway.”</p><p>Lena rolled her eyes. “That show is <em> still </em> going?”</p><p>“Yeah. They added in more and more scripted sections as it went on, and eventually they started doing overarching plot threads, and it got so out of hand that it’s completely turned into a dystopian thriller now,” Louie said. “It’s absolute garbage and the best thing to ever happen to modern television.”</p><p>“It actually received some praise for its subversion of reality TV conventions and the genre-bending innovations it’s employed,” Violet said. “It’s also received a lot of critique for being poorly written, directed, acted, and shot, though, so, you know. Grain of salt.”</p><p>Louie rang them up, and Violet paid for the pastries. Lena grabbed the bag and fished out her croissant, digging into it. She had to hand it to Louie, he knew how to scout talent; this was <em> really </em> good.</p><p>“Oh, wait!” Louie called. “One last thing.”</p><p>Violet and Lena paused halfway to the door. “Yes?” Violet inquired.</p><p>Louie pointed a finger over the counter at them. “If you see Dewey there, remind him that he still needs to pay me back. He’ll know what I mean.”</p><p>Violet raised an eyebrow. “He’s back in town?”</p><p>“Yeah, got back a few days ago,” Louie said. “And if he doesn’t pay me back before he goes galavanting off again, I’m gonna start charging interest. Tell him that part, too.”</p><p>“I’m surprised you aren’t already charging him interest,” Violet said flatly.</p><p>Louie rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’m not <em> that </em> stingy. But I <em> am </em> stingy enough that I’m not gonna let him keep running circles around me like this any more. Just—if you run into him, okay? He’s been ignoring my texts, and I haven’t had a chance to go over there myself yet.” </p><p>Violet nodded. “Alright. See you later, Louie.”</p><p>“See ya,” Louie said, giving them a half-wave before disappearing into the back of the bakery, soon replaced once more by the bored teenager.</p><p>Lena followed Violet back out to the car. “What was that about?”</p><p>“I can’t say I’m entirely sure,” Violet said as she stared up the ignition. “I suppose we’ll find out if we see him.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I just noticed there's a lot of driving in this fic. I don't think I've ever written this much driving before.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena settles a score. Lena meets her family. Lena learns some hot family drama.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HRAH!” Lena shouted, hurling a compact orb of magical energy at Magica. “HA! HYA!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magica dodged the first blast, the magic exploding against the piles of gold coins, and then raised her staff, conjuring her shield to block the two follow-up shots. She turned her staff forward aggressively, but Lena was ahead of her, thrusting her hands out, fingers splayed. Suddenly, a glowing sigil of brilliant pale-blue light appeared under Magica’s feet, and she just barely had the awareness to fly away before Lena clenched her fists, causing that entire section of the bin to explode in a shower of golden coins. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“How</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you learn this kind of magic?!” Magica screeched, firing a series of lasers at Lena. Lena blocked them all with the palm of her hand, dispelling the beams with carefully calculated bursts of magic before they could make contact with her skin. “You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> creation! Made from </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> magic! How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare</span>
  </em>
  <span> you defy me?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe you’re not as good of a sorceress as you thought,” Lena said. She shot another bomb of magic, and Magica raised her staff to block it, but Lena gestured with her other hand, and a clawed arm rose out of Magica’s shadow, grabbing her staff and wrenching it to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magica let out a gasp as her shield spell cast in the wrong direction, and Lena’s attack hit the ground right at her feet, discharging in a nova of energy. Magica was sent flying backwards, just barely managing to stabilize herself with her levitation before she slammed into the wall of the Bin. The blast had sent the dime flying from her fingers, however, and suddenly Dewey was rushing forwards, in spite of Huey’s shouts for him to stay back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gotcya!” he cried, catching the dime in an honestly impressive baseball slide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THE DIME!” Magica roared. Like a shot, she rocketed towards Dewey, who yelped and scrambled to get back on his feet. “GIVE IT BACK!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no you don’t,” Lena said. She gathered magic into her fists, and then slammed them together in front of her chest; in a flash of magic, she teleported directly in front of Magica, twirling in the air and letting Magica’s face ram directly into her boot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“GAH!” Magica said, reeling back. “You absolute </span>
  <em>
    <span>pest!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She began charging up another laser, but Lena snapped her fingers, channeling the inverse wavelength of Magica’s spell, and the magic fizzled out before it could fire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is </span>
  <em>
    <span>very annoying,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Magica hissed, throwing up a shield just in time to block a blast from Lena.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That, however, left her wide open for Webby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The little pink duck came in swinging, leaping up and delivering a heavy punch to the back of Magica’s head before grabbing onto her cape and tugging at her hair. Magica let out a demonic screech, and whipped around, trying to throw Webby off; Lena quickly blasted her shield with another spell to keep her distracted, then turned to look at Dewey, who was sitting behind a pile of gold as he talked to the dime.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“—and I should’ve realized that when we lost Mom, you lost her too, so—”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dewey!” Lena called down to him. “Throw me the dime!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whuh?” Dewey looked up in confusion before his eyes went wide. “Oh—right! Sorry!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wheeled back his arm and hurled the dime at her. Lena charged up a modest blast of magic in her fingertip, tweaked it to make sure the frequency was just right, and then shot the dime out of the air with it. There was a flash of light, and then Scrooge appeared, snatching the dime as he landed and tucking it back under his clothes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank ye kindly, whoever you are,” Scrooge said, flipping up his cane and turning to face Magica, who had just managed to finally throw Webby off of her. “I can take ‘er from here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena threw an arm out, blocking his advance. “Thanks, but stay outta this one, old man. It’s personal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magica turned on her, eyes bloodshot. “You think you’ll get </span>
  <em>
    <span>away with this?!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she growled, gripping her staff so hard Lena thought she might snap it clean in two. “This was going to be my big day, and you’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>ruined EVERYTHING!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena ignored her, and reached within herself, drawing on all that excess shadow magic she’d stolen from Magica’s puppet-shadows. She felt her eyes cloud with dark magic, and she reached out a hand, caressing the Veil.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Void beyond, hear my cry,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she chanted, and the shadows underneath her began to bubble. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Rip this witch straight from the sky. Void beyond, heed my call. End this witch, once and for all.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magica barely got a startled “What—?!” out before a large mass of shadows pooled below them, infinitely deep and infinitely dark. An army of thick, shadowy claws shot out from the pool, grasping Magica by every part of her body, immobilizing her and dragging her down to the ground. Then Lena channeled the last of her magical reserves into one final spell, another sigil of light appearing underneath Magica’s feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NO!” Magica cried. “NO, I WILL </span>
  <em>
    <span>HAVE MY REVENGE! I WILL—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena clenched her fists, and the sigil exploded, sending gold coins flying out in every direction as Magica was blown sky-high. Her staff twirled neatly out of her grip, flying up towards the Bin’s diving board, where Donald was still standing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I got it!” he called, running forward and reaching out to catch the staff. He tripped over his own feet, though, and fell hard to the ground. The staff hit him directly on the head, and cracked; there was an explosion of purple magic, and just like that, the swirling storm of shadows above them dissipated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena, who had reverted back to her usual attire, watched as the staff went shooting off into the distance, angling towards the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should we go get it?” Webby asked, following her gaze. “It’s pretty powerful, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I know where it’s going,” Lena said. “It’s in good hands. Also, you should take a few steps back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby raised an eyebrow at her. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust me,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby gave her a puzzled look, but complied, walking backwards a few steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“SORRY TO CRASH THE PARTYYYYYYYY!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a </span>
  <em>
    <span>whumph,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Launchpad slammed down right where Webby had been standing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I understand now,” Webby said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh. Never crashed a </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> before,” Launchpad mused as he got up, brushing stray coins off his shoulders. “Aw, darn, did I miss the fight?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It would seem our mysterious new friend here has taken care of things,” Bentina Beakley said, walking up to the group. Lena hadn’t seen her approach; she must have gotten here when Lena was doing the whole shadow demon thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Scrooge said, rubbing at his chin as he looked Lena up and down. “Not that I don’t appreciate the help, young lady, but what’s a sorceress of your calibre doing in Duckburg? And what’s your history with Magica?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s Lena!” Dewey said excitedly. “She’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>magic!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>shadow!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Louie added, throwing up his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s from the </span>
  <em>
    <span>future,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Huey said, looking up at her with a mixture of awe and trepidation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Webby finished, leaping forward and taking Lena in a hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena laughed, patting Webby on the head. “Thanks, Pink.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A magical shadow from the future, huh?” Scrooge said. “Well, I’ve seen weirder.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still have questions,” Beakley said, crossing her arms. “Why were you posing as a normal teenager before now? Why didn’t you warn us about Magica? Why were you having sleepovers with my granddaughter?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena blinked. “Oh, all of that was before the future thing happened. I’m from ten years in the future, but I only got transported back here a few hours ago. Before then, I was under Magica’s control, and she was using me to get close to you guys so that she could steal the dime, and teenage-me wasn’t strong enough to fight her off, so she kind of had to go along with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beakley just looked confused now. “Really? Is that why you came from the future, then? To stop Magica?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena shook her head. “You guys stopped Magica even without my help. I mean, this way was a little more… </span>
  <em>
    <span>expedient.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But, no, I actually have no idea why I was transported back to this body and time. It’s likely something magical of nature, but I don’t necessarily think it would have been something that happened in this time period, so my leading theory is that something in 2027 sent me back here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge scratched his head. “Well, I’d be more than willing to return the favor and help you out, but I’m afraid my knowledge of magic is, ah, a tad lacking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m well aware of your opinion on magic, old man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge frowned. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why I wasn’t going to go to you for help,” Lena said, ignoring him. “I used up nearly all of this body’s magic in that fight; I need to sleep, and I’m sure all you mortals are getting tired, too. In the morning, though…” She turned to Webby and smirked. “How’d you like to make a trip to the library with me, Pink?”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do not feel safe,” Lena said as the car skidded around a corner, narrowly missing an electrical pole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, come on, Lena!” Webby said. “Where’s the fun in feeling safe?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s right!” Launchpad said from the driver’s seat, fully turning around and taking his hands off the wheel to talk to them. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> about fun. It’s like I always say: I put the ‘laughter’ into ‘vehicular manslaughter!’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared at him with a horrified face. “Wait, you’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>run people over?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Launchpad’s eyes widened. “What? No! Oh, shoot, is that what that means? I’ve been saying that for years…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please</span>
  </em>
  <span> just watch the road,” Lena pleaded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Launchpad swiveled back around in his chair. He turned into a suburban neighborhood, navigated through a couple streets, and then crashed directly into a fire hydrant, sending a geyser of water up into the air and causing Lena to yelp in alarm as she felt herself lurch forward in her seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re here!” Launchpad said cheerily. “Huh, the forecast didn’t call for rain today. Weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gave him a look. “You crashed into a fire hydrant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ohhhhhh,” Launchpad said. “That makes more sense. That’s a relief! The rain always messes up my hair. ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Lena said. “No, it’s not a ‘relief!’ It’s a ‘you should have your driver’s license revoked!’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I never got one of those,” Launchpad said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s eye twitched. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“WHAT?!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just let it go, Lena,” Webby said, grabbing her by the sleeve and tugging a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena huffed, unbuckling herself and getting out of the car. “Fine. But I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> riding in that death machine again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Launchpad backed up onto the street and drove off, the front hood of the car crumpled and lightly smoking, Webby led Lena over to one of the nearby houses—thankfully, not the one that the burst fire hydrant was directly in front of. They walked up to the front porch, Lena stepping on top of a cheerful purple welcome mat in front of the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby raised a hand to knock, but then paused, turning to Lena. “Ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena let out a steadying breath. “Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby’s fist barely tapped the wood before a loud “COMING!” resounded from within the house, and before Lena knew what was happening, the door flew open, revealing a tall, lanky, light-purple hummingbird.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena!” he exclaimed, reaching out and suddenly giving her a tight hug. It was already over before she could start to protest, though, and he stepped back, holding her by the shoulders. “I’m so glad you’re okay! Er—are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena blinked. “I, uh—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena!” A second, deeper, more jovial voice rang out through the house this time, and a different hummingbird swung into the hallway, smiling widely. He was comically large compared to his husband, and was wearing a striped apron. “How are you? Come in, come in; I have made </span>
  <em>
    <span>brownies!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ushered them through the door, and sure enough, Lena could smell a rich, chocolatey aroma wafting through the house. Next to her, Webby let out a small ‘oooooooh,’ eyes sparkling and just a hint of saliva forming at the edge of her beak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ty makes the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> brownies,” she said in response to Lena’s quizzical look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They made their way into the cozily-decorated home, filled with random trinkets taken from antique shops and furniture so disparate in style that Lena wondered if Ty and Indy didn’t shop exclusively at garage sales. Ty swung around into the kitchen, calling up the stairs as he did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Violeeet! Lena and Webby are here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena heard footfalls coming closer from the floor above, and soon enough, Violet was descending the stairs, nodding at them. “Webby. Lena. I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um—thanks, I—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here!” Ty said enthusiastically, offering a platter of brownies out towards Lena. “Take one!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby snatched one with lightning speed, but Lena was a bit more hesitant, slowly reaching out and grabbing one of the treats. Then she felt a hand press against her back, and she felt herself jump a little, turning to see Indy looking at her with concern. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need anything?” he asked. “Water?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—” Lena’s head swiveled this way and that, looking between the Sabrewings surrounding her. “Maybe some space?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence, before Ty and Indy took hasty steps backwards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of—of course,” Indy said. “Sorry, I’m just so worried…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, I just…” Lena brought her free hand up to her forehead. “It’s just a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe we should move into the living room,” Violet suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good idea, sweetie,” Ty said, placing his hand on Violet’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They filed into the living room; Lena and Webby sat down together in a larger armchair, Violet and Ty sat down on the couch, and Indy took a chair a bit off to the side, pulling it around so they were arranged in something of a circle. As they all got situated, Lena took the opportunity to take a bite out of Ty’s brownie, and immediately, her eyes widened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god, this is amazing,” Lena said. “What, did you bribe me into being your daughter with pastries?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She found us out,” Ty stage-whispered to Violet on the couch, causing her to giggle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Indy gave a small laugh, too, but his face remained tense. “I’m… glad to see you, Lena,” he said quietly. “After Violet told us what had happened, I—well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He averted his gaze. Ty looked at him with concern, and Lena exchanged a glance with Webby. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It hasn’t been easy,” Lena said eventually, looking down at her knees. “Sometimes it still doesn’t feel real, and I’m definitely not used to having people… </span>
  <em>
    <span>worry </span>
  </em>
  <span>about me. It’s actually a lot of pressure.” She let out a wry laugh. “Especially if you’ve been living your whole life convinced that nobody would ever love you. But I think that I was lucky to have people like you guys around to change that. Or—will be lucky? Am lucky? I don’t really know how to phrase this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is a bit of a semantic nightmare,” Violet admitted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ty gave her a big smile. “We’re just as lucky to have you, Lena. Sorry for all the craziness earlier—we may have gotten a bit excited.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby giggled. “Just a bit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But, let me introduce myself. I’m Ty Sabrewing! I like baking, and reading, and embarrassing my adorable children.” As if to demonstrate, he squeezed Violet to him in a powerful side-hug; Violet remained entirely stone-faced throughout the whole ordeal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m Indy,” Indy said from his chair. “I’m a scientist who teaches over at Duckburg University. I love learning new things and sharing my knowledge with others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As you know, I am Violet,” Violet said. “I enjoy books, science, magic, facts, and being correct.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Violet’s been doing a lot of research lately into how magic works,” Webby supplied. “Like, the actual science and physics behind it. She’s been making a lot of breakthroughs!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Violet said. “In fact, in light of my first published paper on the subject, I was named the number one biggest threat to the integrity of the scientific community by Scientific America in this month’s issue of the magazine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They called her work a ‘dangerous foray into realms man was never meant to explore’ and claimed that it was a ‘slippery slope that would erode the very foundations of science, both practically and ethically,’” Ty said. “I’ve never been more proud!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena frowned. “That kind of sounds like a bad thing, though?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They said the same things about Copernicus and Tesla!” Ty said. “It’s a sign of greatness.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No clue who those people are,” Lena said. “I am a bit surprised that’s something you can actually, like, research, though. Magica always just said it was magic, and not to question stuff like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet sighed. “Magica, as it happens, had access to an awful lot of magic, but was actually a very poor sorceress, all things considered. She can manage crude spells with formidable strength, and her grasp of shadow magic is rather robust, but she has almost no knowledge of finer magical theory; she can’t even undo her own transformation spells.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That tracks, actually,” Lena said. “Well… if you’ve been studying this stuff, do you know how to… fix me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are currently operating on very little information,” Violet explained. “We don’t even know what exactly happened to you. In fact, now that I can see you properly, I can tell you’ve gotten shorter; I think your body has also reverted to your thirteen-year-old state, which raises even more questions. I don’t know how we can start to solve the problem if we don’t know what the problem is. However, there is one person who can likely supply us with the information we need.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Lena asked, leaning forward. “Who?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet held Lena’s gaze, her ever-flat expression adopting a certain amount of gravity. “The Phantom Blot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gulped. “Oh.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, this place looks the same as ever,” Lena commented as she got out of the car, gazing up at McDuck Manor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Violet said. “I find it changes about as much as its owner does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena snorted. “Who even lives here anymore? Obviously Webby and Huey moved out, and it looked like Louie was plenty well off enough to get his own place if he wanted to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Louie has his own apartment, yes,” Violet said. “Shocking to all of us. We thought he’d ride out the mansion life with the live-in housekeeper for as long as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The old lady’s still here, too?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet nodded as she pushed open the front doors. “Yes. Sunk costs and all that, as I understand it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That—Vi!” Lena choked out a laugh. “You’ve gotten kinda cutting in your old age, huh?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet smiled cheekily at her. “What can I say? You taught me the art of the razz during that race against Huey way back when, and I’ve been perfecting the technique ever since.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the proudest I’ve ever been as an older sister,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m the older sister right now, actually. Speaking of…” Violet paused in the hallway, raised an arm, and rested her elbow on the top of Lena’s head. “Remember how you’d always do this, and call me an ‘arm rest?’ I just thought I should remind you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gave her a flat look. “Very funny. How long have you been waiting to do this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Years,” Violet responded candidly. She fished a smartphone out of her coat. “Hold on, allow me to take a picture to preserve the moment. I have to show this to you when you get back. Old you, I mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena let out a sigh. “Oh my god, fine. You’re still short, though, even if you’re taller than me at the moment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m actually on the tall side for adults of my species,” Violet countered, bringing the phone up so Lena’s unimpressed face and Violet’s subtly smug one were both in frame.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re still short,” Lena said, crossing her arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet snapped the picture, let out a contemplative hum, and then snapped another. And another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Satisfied yet?” Lena groused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure. Perhaps you should smile for the camera, Lena; while your grumpy face is cute, I could use a variety of shots to choose from.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Lena said, throwing Violet’s arm off of her. “That’s enough of that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, fine.” Violet stuffed her phone away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They walked onwards, Violet leading her up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. As they were approaching a turn, a voice called out of one of the nearby rooms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, is someone there? You’re not trying to rob us, right? That’d be suuuper annoying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just Violet and Lena,” Violet called out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” the door to the room swung open, revealing a duck that could only be Dewey. He was wearing a blue athletics jacket, a blue T-shirt, and had blue goggles on his forehead. Also, one of his hands was blue? He stuffed it in his pocket before Lena could get a good look. “Hey, what are you two doing in—oh, jeez, Lena, what happened? Why are you, like, twelve?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span> seventeen,” Lena said. “Are you stupid?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Time magic,” Violet explained. “She’s from 2021.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey nodded. “Figures.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re trying to find information on the artifact that did it in Scrooge’s library,” Lena added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, neat,” Dewey said. “Let me know if there’s any way I can help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you. We’ll keep you in mind.” Violet paused. “I… wasn’t aware you were back in Duckburg, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey looked a bit uncomfortable. “Yeah, I, uh—I was gonna tell everyone, but…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huelyn really missed you,” Violet said as he trailed off. “You couldn’t tell her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He winced. “Just as blunt as ever, huh, Vi?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re being uncharacteristically cagey,” Violet accused. “Did something happen during your adventure?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh—look, it’s not a big deal,” Dewey insisted. “Just a little accident. Everything’s okay now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena, who had been extremely confused throughout most of this conversation, was finally starting to put some pieces together. “A little accident that forced you to ask Louie for money?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My stupid insurance didn’t cover the—” He stopped. “Wait, you talked with Louie? How much did he tell you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not much. Just that he was going to start charging you interest if you didn’t pay him back.” Violet sighed. “Look, are you going to tell us, or do I have to track your mother down and ask her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey didn’t say anything; he just took his hand—the blue one—out of his pocket, and rolled up his sleeve with his other hand. Lena let out a small gasp as he uncovered a metal prosthetic that went all the way to his shoulder, painted a sleek blue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god,” Lena muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see,” Violet said, as unperturbed as always. “And you didn’t tell Huey you were back because she’s always trying to convince you to stop adventuring because she thinks it’s dangerous, and you want to avoid her angry why-didn’t-you-listen-to-me lecture.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um—” Dewey swallowed. “Yeah, that, uh, that basically sums it up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A word of advice,” Violet said. “She’ll be even angrier once she finds out you got back and didn’t tell her. Did you even tell Webby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon, Vi, you know she can’t keep a secret,” Dewey said. “I’m sorry, okay, I know I’ve been putting it off, it’s just—it’s a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So how’d you lose it?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both turned to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena,” Violet said, somewhat disapprovingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes. “Oh, like he doesn’t want to talk about it. If the Dewey </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> know found out that he gets a robot arm in the future, he’d be over the frickin’ moon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey groaned. “God, that’s the worst part, it wasn’t even cool! There was this stupid chimera thing with a poisonous snake tail and it bit my arm and in the end I had to amputate it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean venomous, not poisonous,” Violet said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, the chimera part’s pretty metal,” Lena said. “We can workshop it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Workshop… the way in which I lost my arm?” Dewey asked, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Like, maybe you were wrestling the chimera, and it bit your arm clean off!” Lena suggested. “You managed to beat it even with only one arm, and you were just barely able to stop the bleeding before you died.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So just lie?” Violet said flatly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Embellish,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena corrected. “Or just go with the poison thing, I mean, it’s your arm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Venom thing,” Violet corrected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No one asked,” Lena said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey looked at her for a bit, then broke into a laugh. “God, you sure are Lena, alright. Thanks. I’ll think on it.” He pulled his sleeve back down, covering the metal. “You guys need to get to the library, though, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Violet said. “And you need to go over to my house and say hello to your sister who is probably worried that you’ve died in a spike trap in some forgotten temple and will never come back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Yeah.” He let out a breath. “Better to just get it over with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked off, and Lena swore that he mumbled something under his breath about how he would never die to a spike trap of all things.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Violet said. “That was interesting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Lena shrugged. “Honestly, I’m glad I got to come here while there was at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> family drama going on. That was some good tea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet rolled her eyes. “Come on. The library’s right through here.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Plans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena tries to get some sleep. Lena has a talk with the Sabrewings. Lena and Violet make some discoveries.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> 2017 </em>
</p>
<p>When they finally made it back to McDuck Manor, Scrooge immediately stole Beakley and Donald away for an adults-only conversation, which apparently did <em> not </em> include Lena. She couldn’t be too bitter about it, though; she was exhausted from the fight, and the only thing she cared about right now was getting to one of the guest rooms before she literally keeled over.</p>
<p>But for that to happen, she had to find a way to get Dewey to stop talking.</p>
<p>“And then—and then when you teleported? That was so <em> cool!” </em> he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. “And then when I caught the dime and you were all like, ‘Dewey, throw me the dime,’ and then I <em> did </em> and you brought Scrooge back, but then you were like ‘Step back, old man, I’ve got this,’ and then you did that thing with the shadows, and then you blasted her, and—aaa! It was awesome!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, I’m amazing,” Lena said, yawning. “Aren’t you, like, ten? I’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtime.”</p>
<p>“We’re pumped up on <em> so </em> much adrenaline right now,” Louie said. “Also I spent a lot of today being terrified  for my life so I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.”</p>
<p>“Besides, we can’t go to bed <em> now,” </em> Huey said, pulling out the JWG. “Now that our lives aren’t in danger any more, I finally have time to ask you all of my questions! I came up with a list on the way back here.”</p>
<p>“Oh, fuck me,” Lena said, bringing a hand up to her face. She did <em> not </em> have the energy to deal with one of Red’s gigantic barrage of questions.</p>
<p>But then she heard four loud gasps, and her eyes sprung open, slapping a hand to her beak. “I-I mean, frick me, I said—I said frick.” </p>
<p>“Oh ho ho, no you did not,” Louie said, smirking.</p>
<p><em> “Lena!” </em> Webby whisper-hissed, looking around like Mrs. Beakley was going to pop out behind the couch and start lecturing at any moment. “Did you just—oh my!”</p>
<p>Dewey and Huey were both staring at her wide-eyed, but while Dewey looked like he’d just been thrown a surprise party, Huey looked utterly aghast.</p>
<p>“You can’t—you can’t say that!” Huey said, clutching the JWG close, as if its purity would be marred by Lena’s foul language.</p>
<p>Lena sighed, running a hand down her face. “Look, I don’t usually hang out with kids, and I’m really tired. It just slipped out, okay?”</p>
<p>“You said it, that means I can say it, right?” Dewey said excitedly.</p>
<p>“NO!” Lena gave him a stern look. “No, you can’t. You guys have to promise not to repeat that in front of <em> anyone, </em> or I won’t answer any of your questions!”</p>
<p>“I promise!” Huey said quickly. The rest of them followed suit in short order, except for Louie, who had to be elbowed by Webby before he grumbled out a half-hearted promise.</p>
<p>“Okay, great,” Lena said. “So…  Each of you gets to ask me one question, how about that? Stuff that’s too spoilery isn’t allowed. And then we all have to go to bed.”</p>
<p><em> “ONLY ONE?!” </em> Huey screeched. “But—but how will I choose?”</p>
<p>“That’s your problem,” Lena said. “Now, who’s going first?”</p>
<p>“Are we still best friends in the future?” Webby blurted out.</p>
<p>Lena laughed. “Oh, we’re even <em> better </em> than best friends.”</p>
<p>Webby gasped, bringing her hands up to her chin and beginning to vibrate. “You mean… we’re best friends forever?!”</p>
<p>“Hmmm… Yeah, you could say that.” Lena smirked. “Til death do us part, and all that.”</p>
<p>Louie gave her a suspicious look at that wording, but Webby didn’t seem to pick up on it, letting out a happy squeal.</p>
<p>“What about you, Green?” Lena asked. “Do you have a question?”</p>
<p>“Uhhhh.” Louie put a finger to his chin. “What company has the most stock growth in the 2018 fiscal year?”</p>
<p>Lena gave him a flat look. “Nice try. I couldn’t even tell you if I wanted to.”</p>
<p>“Ugh, fine.” Louie rolled his eyes. “Ummm… Do I get richer than Scrooge?”</p>
<p>Lena hummed. “Technically, yes?”</p>
<p>Huey’s eyes widened. “WHAT?”</p>
<p>“It’s complicated,” Lena said, waving a hand. “And I wasn’t really there for it, so I’m hazy on the details. Look, don’t worry about it. You’re up, Huey.”</p>
<p>“Um… Um… Oh jeez, uh…” Huey flipped wildly through the JWG. “Okay, okay. This one’s good, um—what’s the next disaster that’s gonna happen, and how do we stop it?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, so, that’s <em> definitely </em>spoilers,” Lena said. “Go for something a little more trivial, okay?”</p>
<p>“Fine, fine. Hmm… okay, here; do I become a Senior Woodchuck?”</p>
<p>“Yep,” Lena said. “Not telling you when, though.”</p>
<p>Huey smiled. “I’ll take it.”</p>
<p>“Alright, then. Last one.”</p>
<p>Everyone turned to Dewey, who put on a thinking face. Contrary to all of Lena’s expectations, he stayed quiet for a long while, staring at the ground. Eventually, though, he finally looked up at her. “Mom,” he said softly. “Is she… Is she alive?”</p>
<p>Lena smiled at him sadly. “Oh, kid. That’s one I can’t help you with.”</p>
<p>Dewey swallowed. “You mean… you don’t know?”</p>
<p>“I know,” Lena said. “But that’s a journey you’ve gotta take on your own.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Dewey looked down again, and Webby walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder. Louie and Huey both looked uncomfortable, too, and wouldn’t meet her eye.</p>
<p>“Look, sorry to end on a depressing note, but I’m about to crash. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay? And Webby, we’ve got to be ready to go to the library by ten.”</p>
<p>“What—uh, what are we doing there, exactly?” Webby asked.</p>
<p>“You’ll see,” Lena said, before walking up the steps. She left the kids behind as she navigated her way to the empty guest room that would, ironically, one day be Della’s, and flopped face-first onto the pillow, without even bothering to change. She went out like a light.</p>
<p>*   *   *</p>
<p>The next morning, Lena was pouring herself a glass of orange juice as she waited for the toaster to finish heating up a pair of frozen waffles. The nights after complete magical exhaustion were always entirely dreamless, which resulted in this weird feeling that absolutely no time had passed between falling asleep and waking up. She felt a lot better, though; she still hadn’t recovered to her maximum capacity, but she had enough to get her through the day, assuming she didn’t have to fight any more Magicas.</p>
<p>Mrs. Beakley walked into the kitchen just as the toaster dinged, sending her waffles popping up. She raised an eyebrow at Lena, hand on her hip. “Well. Somebody’s certainly made herself at home, I see.”</p>
<p>Lena rolled her eyes, grabbing one of the waffles and biting into it. “Good morning to you, too, Bentina. And for the record, you don’t even want to <em> know </em> how many times I slept over here as a kid. I know this place like the back of my hand.”</p>
<p>Beakley regarded her cooly. “I wanted to thank you for your help in dealing with Magica, Lena.”</p>
<p>“No prob.” Lena took another bite of the waffle. “She had it coming.”</p>
<p>“I also wanted to say that I’m still not entirely sure I can trust you,” Beakley went on. “I understand why you might want to go to the library if you’re trying to get back to your proper time, but why are you bringing my granddaughter along?”</p>
<p>“I’m trying to keep the timeline as consistent as possible,” Lena said. “Which might be totally fruitless after how I handled the Magica situation, but if everything had worked out the same, I would’ve had my body destabilized and my soul banished to the Shadow Realm, and I really wasn’t about that. From here it kind of gets into spoilers that I can’t tell you, but basically, trust me, Webby needs to go to the library. She’s got a friend to make.”</p>
<p>Beakley frowned. “A friend?”</p>
<p>“Yep.” She chomped down again on the waffle, finishing it off in a few quick bites, and reached for the second.</p>
<p>“I’m still skeptical,” Beakley said, crossing her arms. “I only just started letting Webby out of the house again after all those years, and in just six months, all of <em> this </em> has happened. She was on the <em> news </em> today. I’m worried that all this attention will…” She sighed. “Well, I’ve probably already said too much. I’m just concerned for her wellbeing.”</p>
<p>“If this is about F.O.W.L., don’t worry,” Lena said. “This isn’t going to affect any of that junk.”</p>
<p>Beakley’s eyes widened, and then her face hardened. “How much do you know?”</p>
<p>“Uhhhh.” Lena shrugged, breaking off some waffle and stuffing it into her beak. “Basically everything? More than you do, honestly. Don’t worry, though, I’m not gonna go running to Webby rambling about how she’s some stolen lab experiment. That seems like a bad idea for a lot of reasons.”</p>
<p><em> “Shhh!” </em> Beakley hissed, eyes darting to the door. “Not so loud! How do you know about that? Does something happen in the future?!”</p>
<p>“Spoilers,” Lena said.</p>
<p>Beakley gave her a deadly look. “Lena, if you have <em> any </em> information on F.O.W.L., I need you to tell me.”</p>
<p>“Lena!” a voice called out from somewhere else in the mansion. “I’m ready to go!”</p>
<p>“Welp, that’s my cue,” Lena said, finishing off her waffle. “Look, I know you’re worried, so if it helps, I can tell you that everything works out alright in the end. Okay? I don’t want to say any more than that, though. The timestream is a delicate thing, and I’m doing enough damage as-is. I’ve got a pretty good thing going back in my timeline; I don’t want things to be <em> too </em>different when I get back on account of me messing around in the past.”</p>
<p>Beakley held her gaze for a few seconds, but then relented with a sigh. “Fine. I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to get angry with you for keeping secrets.” She looked up, meeting Lena’s eyes. “Good luck with your research. I hope you find your way back.”</p>
<p>Lena smiled. “Thanks.”</p>
<p>Just then, Webby burst into the kitchen. “Lena, there you are! Oh, hi Granny! Are you ready to go?”</p>
<p>“You betcha,” Lena said, turning and walking over to the door. “Ready to hit the books?”</p>
<p>“I was <em> born </em> ready!” Webby said confidently.</p>
<p><em> Poor choice of wording, </em> Lena thought as she followed Webby out of the room. She stole one last glance over her shoulder as they went; Beakley was watching them through the sides of her glasses, gripping the counter, face unreadable.</p>
<p>Lena turned back, and kept walking.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em> 2021 </em>
</p>
<p>Next to Lena in the armchair, Webby frowned. “Blot? I mean, he <em> would </em> know about that artifact, but there’s no way he’d tell us. Do you want to interrogate him?”</p>
<p>“Something along those lines,” Violet said. “If we want to help Lena, we need to figure out the nature of the artifact that did this, one way or another.”</p>
<p>“But… I can’t fight him,” Lena said sullenly. “And Webby said that he’s really strong when he has that gauntlet thingy.”</p>
<p>“It won’t be easy,” Violet admitted. “But things never have been for us.”</p>
<p>“I… think we can take him,” Webby said carefully. “Especially if we bring in some reinforcements. But we need to keep Lena far away from the fight; we can’t risk Blot stealing her magic.”</p>
<p>Violet shook her head. “Webby, I know you’re concerned, but we’ll never be able to corner Blot without Lena. She’s the only one he cares about. If he sees all of us without her, he’ll just run.”</p>
<p>“Wait.” Lena frowned. “Are you planning on using me as bait?”</p>
<p>“Violet, no!” Webby exclaimed, lurching forward in the chair. “We are <em> not </em> going with that plan!”</p>
<p>“I don’t see any other way to capture him except to set a trap,” Violet reasoned. “If his employment of the artifact in the most recent fight was anything to go by, he is starting to learn that blindly attacking over and over again is not working. He’s not going to take an unnecessary risk, especially now that Lena is vulnerable, and he’s so close. We need to make him overconfident, and then strike after he takes the bait.”</p>
<p>“I <em> guess </em> you’re right,” Webby said, crossing her arms. “I still don’t like it; we’re gambling with Lena’s life here. But… I suppose it’s up to her.”</p>
<p>Lena squirmed a bit. “I… I trust you guys,” she said softly. “I don’t like it either, but I need answers.”</p>
<p>“Wait,” Indy said, and everyone turned to him. Lena had forgotten he and Ty were even here; and apparently, so had Webby and Violet, if their expressions were anything to go by. “Gambling with her life?”</p>
<p>“You’ve mentioned this ‘Blot’ fellow before,” Ty said. “Who exactly is he?”</p>
<p>“He’s…” Violet paused, sharing a look with Webby. “He’s a villain who wants to eradicate the world of all magic. That includes Lena.”</p>
<p>“I’m with Webby,” Indy said, face narrowing. “I don’t like this plan.”</p>
<p>“Papa, it’s the only way to—”</p>
<p>“Then find another way,” Indy said, cutting Violet off. “Lena’s life is more important than her memories.”</p>
<p>Violet’s beak was working itself in circles. “But—but—”</p>
<p>“Sweetie, I know you think your plan is best,” Ty said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “And I know it frustrates you when other people disagree with something you see as objective. But you’re such a smart girl; surely you can think of a safer approach, right?”</p>
<p>Violet didn’t say anything, turning her head away.</p>
<p>Lena sucked in a breath as the silence festered. “Um…”</p>
<p>Mercifully, they were saved by the ring of Webby’s phone. She jumped a little, and pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s Granny!”</p>
<p>“Maybe she found something in the library after all,” Lena suggested.</p>
<p>“I hope so,” Webby said. “I can also ask her if she has any ideas about Blot. I’ll be right back.”</p>
<p>Webby stood and walked out of the room, bringing the phone to her ear as she went, and inadvertently leaving Lena alone with the Sabrewings. She looked between them; Indy seemed anxious, Ty looked a bit uncomfortable, and Violet was still turned away from them both, her expression frustrated. </p>
<p>“So…” Lena shifted a bit in the chair, already missing Webby’s comforting presence. “You guys really adopted me?”</p>
<p>Ty’s expression instantly softened. “Legally, about a year and a half ago, yes. But you’ve been a part of our family for much longer.”</p>
<p>Indy laughed. “You should’ve seen our faces when Violet came home from that sleepover. We were so excited that she’d finally made a friend her age, and then she brought home an entire teenager!”</p>
<p>“It was a productive evening,” Violet said simply. </p>
<p>“And you just… took in this random shadow girl?” Lena asked. “Just like that?”</p>
<p>“Well, we were admittedly a bit wary of you at first,” Indy said. “You didn’t really want to talk to us, and while Violet had done her best to explain the situation, we were still a bit, ah… <em> confused.” </em></p>
<p>“But once you opened up, oh, we just knew we wanted to keep you,” Ty chuckled. “You were intelligent, sweet, capable… oh, and you’re so <em> funny!”  </em></p>
<p>“Yes!” Indy agreed. “Yes, I remember that. Violet hadn’t really developed her sense of humor yet—no offense to you, of course, sweetie, you just needed a little push—so it was a delight to have someone who could make us laugh.”</p>
<p>“And someone who’d groan at our jokes,” Ty added. “Violet had just started ignoring them.”</p>
<p>Violet shrugged. “It’s the prudent thing to do.” </p>
<p>“But, yeah, that’s basically the story,” Ty said. “You needed a home and a family, and we were able to provide it.”</p>
<p>“I…” Lena looked away. “I don’t really know what to say. Thank you, I guess. Maybe that’s weird since you haven’t done any of that for this version of me, but I’m… I’m really happy that I was able to grow up to have a proper family, instead of whatever Magica was serving.”</p>
<p>“You’re more than welcome, Lena,” Indy said. “I just wish we could help you fix this. Even as crazy as things get around here, we’ve never been a part of any of this magical business, really.”</p>
<p>“Well… there is one thing you could do,” Lena said. “You could let Violet go through with her plan.”</p>
<p>Violet immediately perked up, giving Lena a ghost of a smile. </p>
<p>Ty shared a glance with his husband, then turned back to Lena, giving her an uneasy look. “Lena…”</p>
<p>“It’s my life,” Lena said. “Violet—Violet’s right. If we want to figure out what happened and get your daughter back, we need more information.”</p>
<p>“You <em> are </em> our daughter,” Indy insisted. “We… we couldn’t bear to lose you.”</p>
<p>“But I’m <em> not </em> your daughter,” Lena said. “Not really. I know it isn’t easy to hear, but I literally just met you guys. The version of me that knows you, that <em> loves </em> you; don’t you want to get her back?”</p>
<p>“Of course we do,” Ty said softly. “We just don’t want to lose <em> you </em> in the process. Even if you aren’t the Lena we know at the moment, you’re still worth protecting.”</p>
<p>“Sometimes,” Violet said slowly, drawing her parents’ attention to her, “the best defense is a strong offense.”</p>
<p>Indy frowned. “I’m not sure that applies when the opponent is a dangerous warlock out to kill you.”</p>
<p>“He’s not a warlock,” Violet said. “Besides, I think it applies particularly well in this case. Phantom Blot has attacked us countless times in the past year or so. He is stubborn, and he will stop at nothing to steal Lena’s magic; and now that he knows Lena is vulnerable, he will only double down. It won’t be long before he attacks again, regardless of whether or not we’re prepared. Would you rather that encounter happen when we least expect it? Or do you think it would be smarter to carefully orchestrate the next time he and Lena meet, catch him in a trap, and eliminate the threat altogether?”</p>
<p>Ty sighed. “I… suppose you might have a point.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Indy mumbled.</p>
<p>“It’s my life,” Lena repeated. “And up until now, it’s been pretty shitty, but—”</p>
<p>“Language,” Ty said automatically, before awkwardly coughing when Lena gave him a funny look. “I-I mean, please go on.”</p>
<p>“—but this glimpse into the future,” Lena continued, “it looks almost… <em> happy. </em> I’m willing to risk my life for that.”</p>
<p>Indy met her eyes, then sighed. “Alright, then. I suppose I can’t stop you. Just… be safe, okay? I’m already worrying myself to pieces over here.”</p>
<p>“I’ll take care of her,” Violet assured.</p>
<p>Ty laughed, ruffling Violet’s hair. “From what I hear, normally <em> she’s </em> the one making sure <em> you </em> don’t get in over your head.”</p>
<p>“What a horribly inaccurate statement,” Violet said, brushing his hand away. Her smile betrayed her, though.</p>
<p>There were a few beats of silence, and then Webby’s head poked around the doorframe, looking them over with curious eyes. “So… is the emotional family discussion over? I didn’t want to interrupt.”</p>
<p>“Oh, come on, Webby,” Indy said softly, gesturing her in. “You’re practically family yourself with how often you’re over here to visit Lena.”</p>
<p>“Haha, yeah,” Webby said, blushing. “Well, um—Granny wants us back at the Manor. She says she found something. She wants to go over it with us, and then help us formulate a plan of attack against Blot.”</p>
<p>“Excellent,” Violet said, getting up. “We have no time to waste. Let’s go.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em> 2027  </em>
</p>
<p>“Lena, I think I found something,” Violet said from across the library. </p>
<p>“You <em> better </em> have,” Lena said, carelessly throwing down the book on ancient majycks she had been skimming through and dragging herself over to where Violet was sitting, surrounded by a pile of texts. “We’ve been at this for <em> hours. </em>I feel like my eyes are gonna fall out.”</p>
<p>“It’s been forty-five minutes. Don’t be dramatic.”</p>
<p>“I’ll be dramatic if I damn well want to be.”</p>
<p>“Language,” Violet chastised. </p>
<p>“You’re not Dad. You can’t control me.”</p>
<p>“No, but as your <em> older sister—” </em></p>
<p>“Oh, shut up.” Lena grabbed the book Violet was reading and turned it towards herself for a better look. “What’d you find?”</p>
<p>“Malaheim’s Timekeeper,” Violet said, pointing to a picture on one side of the page. “It’s an old, obscure artifact said to allow its user to traverse time.”</p>
<p>Lena studied the picture: a small, copper pocket watch, with several buttons around its circumference. “That’s—that’s it! Vi, that’s it, that’s the watch that Blot had!”</p>
<p>“Good,” Violet said. “I wasn’t sure, because it seems that it only has the ability to send people to the past. The information is vague, of course, but from what’s available, there’s no indication that it would be able to send someone into the future like what happened with you.”</p>
<p>“I mean, I did kind of destroy it,” Lena said. “Wouldn’t the wild time magic be able to do whatever?”</p>
<p>Violet pursed her beak. “Even when unleashed wildly, the magic shouldn’t have been able to accomplish any feats beyond the initial capabilities of the artifact. It doesn’t add up.”</p>
<p>Lena shrugged. “Well, then whoever wrote that book didn’t have the whole story, because that’s <em> definitely </em> the artifact. It <em> has </em> to be.”</p>
<p>“I concur.” Violet studied the page for a while longer. “There’s information here about the place the Timekeeper was sealed away; an old magical tower in rural Greenland. It’s possible we could uncover more information there.”</p>
<p>“That’s great!” Lena said. </p>
<p>“It’s a lead, at least,” Violet said. She stood up, tucking the book into her bag. “We should head back to the lab; the readings should be finished by now, and that might give us additional insight. From there, we can formulate a plan of action.”</p>
<p>*   *   *</p>
<p>When they returned to the house, there was an extra car in the driveway. </p>
<p>“Looks like Dewford is still here,” Violet said, parking on the street so she wouldn’t block him in. “Good.”</p>
<p>They trudged up the driveway and entered the house. Sure enough, Huey and Dewey were in the middle of a conversation in the living room, but both turned to them as they came in. </p>
<p>“Oh, you’re back,” Huey observed, giving them a smile. </p>
<p>“Yo,” Dewey said. </p>
<p>“Did you find what you needed?” Huey asked. </p>
<p>Violet nodded. “Indeed. As always, McDuck’s records of esoteric treasures are nothing if not thorough. Have you two managed to resolve things?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Dewey said. “We’re cool.”</p>
<p>“We’re cool as long as you’re more <em> careful,” </em> Huey clarified. “Next time, it could be your head.”</p>
<p>“I would think that to be Dewey’s most expendable appendage, actually,” Violet said. </p>
<p>Huey snorted, bringing a hand up to hide her laugh. Dewey looked confused for a second before barking out an indignant “Hey!”</p>
<p>“It’s good to hear that, though,” Violet went on. “Especially since we might need your expertise, Dewey.”</p>
<p>He seemed to light up. “Wait, do you mean you need me to take you on an adventure?”</p>
<p>“We found out where the artifact that brought me here is supposed to be kept,” Lena explained. “It’s up in Greenland, though. We could use a pilot.”</p>
<p>“I want to check the lab readings on Lena’s magic first,” Violet said. “But yes, we may require your aeronautical abilities.”</p>
<p>“Well, count me in!” Dewey said, pumping a fist. </p>
<p>Huey sighed. “Really? You <em> just </em> got back.”</p>
<p>“Aw, c’mon, Hue.” Dewey waved her off with a hand. His flesh one, specifically. “This’ll be a quickie. Not like the long expeditions Mom and I go on. Right?”</p>
<p>Violet nodded. “Yes, it should only be a day trip. I’ll give you more details after we get these readings. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”</p>
<p>Huey waved after them as Violet led Lena back towards the lab. “Good luck! Try not to burn the house down!”</p>
<p>“Thanks?” Lena returned hesitantly.</p>
<p>Violet merely scoffed. “In your dreams.”</p>
<p>Once they got into the lab, Violet immediately went up to the machine that had scanned Lena, and began tapping away at the keyboard. Eventually, the display changed to a graph with several multicolored lines, and Violet stared at it intently, beak pursed. </p>
<p>Lena looked on over her shoulder, but couldn’t make heads or tails of what she was seeing. “So, like. What’s going on here?”</p>
<p>“Each of these lines represents one wavelength range of magic, measured by amplitude over time,” Violet explained, pointing at the colored lines. “The wavelength ranges correspond to the type of magical energy, and the amplitude is their strength. For example, this black line here is the readings of your shadow magic; you can see that it’s staying steady because you’re always channeling a baseline amount of shadow magic to maintain your form. Since you didn’t use any shadow magic during the scan, it had no reason to fluctuate.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Lena said, nodding along. “What’s this one, then?” she asked, pointing at a blue line that started off low, but then jumped up massively, staying high but with a lot of fluctuation after that. </p>
<p>“That’s your personal magic. The kind you use to channel your sorceress form and most of your spells.”</p>
<p>“And… the third line?”</p>
<p>This one was orange, and was at the very bottom of the graph. It seemed to be on a very slight but consistent slope downwards. </p>
<p>“That’s residual magic,” Violet said. “It has to be, with how low the amplitude is. Plus, it has the slow downwards trend of mana dissipation that you would expect out of magic left over from a spell that had been cast on you in the recent past.”</p>
<p>“So that’s the time magic, then,” Lena concluded. </p>
<p>“One would think so,” Violet said. “But this isn’t the frequency for time magic.”</p>
<p>Lena’s brow furrowed. “What? What is it, then?”</p>
<p>“Dimensional magic,” Violet said. </p>
<p>She stared at the screen for a while longer, then swiveled around, pulling out her phone as she walked back through the house, Lena jogging to catch up.</p>
<p>“Whatever happened to you, Lena, it isn’t what it seems to be on the surface,” Violet said, tapping furiously away at the screen. “You need to go to that tower in Greenland. Hopefully, you can uncover more answers there.”</p>
<p>“Wait, are you not coming with me?” Lena asked nervously. </p>
<p>“Apologies; I don’t do those sorts of adventures anymore. But there’s someone much more capable than me who would be more than willing to accompany you, and she gets off work in an hour.”</p>
<p>Lena smiled. “Webby.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Break next week! Managed to string together three weekly updates, but I'm running out of steam again so I'll need a bit of time to recuperate. Thanks for sticking with me, and I'll see you in April!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Respite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena and Webby visit the library. Lena meets the reinforcements. Lena crashes at Webby's apartment for the night.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So!” Webby said cheerfully as they climbed the front steps of the library. “You said we were meeting someone?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Violet Sabrewing,” Lena said. “Scientific skeptic turned arcane researcher. You’ll get along great.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby smiled. “Ooh, I can’t wait!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pushed open the doors to the library. Webby gave her customary greeting to Ralph, the stone bust of the library’s founder at the entrance, and then swiped her library card at the turnstile. It took her a couple tries, but she got it eventually. Lena simply willed her torso intangible for a few seconds and walked through, the bars phasing right through her stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah,” Webby said, eyes wide. “How did you do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My body’s made from magic,” Lena said nonchalantly. “It doesn’t have to be physical if I don’t want it to be. It’s a tricky technique, though, because if you’re not careful you’ll accidentally disperse yourself and cease to exist.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby oooed. “Cool!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena walked up to the front desk, where a chipper, middle-aged librarian looked up at her. “Hello! How can I help you two?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Has a young and off-puttingly blunt hummingbird girl come by here recently asking you if you carry any books about the Shadow Realm?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you mean Violet?” the librarian asked, smiling. “She’s been here since early this morning. After staying here late last night, too. Are you her friends?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Lena said. “Do you know where she is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think she’s studying at one of the tables in the back, towards the religion section,” the librarian said, pointing down past several rows of shelves. “Make sure she’s okay for me, will you? I know she likes to read, but this is a little extreme, even for her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will do,” Lena said. “C’mon, Webs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They delved deeper into the library, and eventually Lena spotted Violet sitting at a nearby table, her beak deep within a book; this one was titled, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘The Myth of the Shadow Realm.’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena was a little taken aback seeing her so young—she had lots of pictures of Vi when she was this age, of course, but Lena had forgotten just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>tiny</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that her?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena nodded. “Yep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She seems nice! I’m gonna say hi.” Webby walked up to the table and raised her arm in a wave. “Hi! I’m—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet put out a hand, silencing her, and continued reading. After a few seconds, she looked up, lowering her hand and giving Webby a skeptical look. “Yes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi! I’m Webby,” Webby said, completely unphased. “Are you doing research on the Shadow Realm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed I am,” Violet said. “I have almost read everything the library has on the subject, as far as the books in English go. I was planning on moving into some ancient syriac texts next after finishing this book. Which I am currently in the middle of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then Webby said something in a language Lena didn’t understand, an excited look on her face. Violet’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but Lena could tell she was impressed; she replied, and the two of them went back and forth like that for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Lena had to step in. “Okay, nerds, I’m glad you two are getting along, but I gotta talk with Violet about something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stopped, and Violet turned to her, face confused. “I’m sorry—do I know you? I don’t remember giving you my name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s complicated,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s from the future!” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet narrowed her eyes. “The future? I have opened my eyes to many new realities in the past few days, but time travel should be physically impossible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, no, it’s a thing. Happens pretty often actually.” Lena shrugged. “Anyway, I needed to see you for a few reasons, but one of them is to retrieve this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She activated her magic, and levitated the amulet out of Violet’s bag, catching it in her hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet didn’t bother trying to hide her shock this time. “You can use magic? Perhaps you’re from the future after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Girl, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> magic,” Lena said. “Specifically a construct of animated shadow magic with its own developed consciousness, but, you know, details.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fascinating,” Violet said. “And this amulet; is it yours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sort of. It’s Magica’s, really, but I’d rather she didn’t have it at the moment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, why did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>have Magica’s amulet?” Webby asked, looking at Violet. “And—and why are you doing research on the Shadow Realm?” She gasped. “You don’t work for Magica, do you?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet looked confused. “She was the one who caused the incident yesterday, correct? No, I have never met her. When the shadows attacked, my family and I were on the beach; we were planning on going scuba diving, but our shadows came to life as we were getting ready, and we were forced to flee. After things calmed down, I returned to the beach in order to retrieve our gear, but it was gone. I did find that amulet, however, after it fell out of the sky.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh.” Webby laughed nervously. “Weird how your scuba gear went missing like that, haha.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes. “We used it to sneak into Scrooge’s money bin so we could take down Magica. I’m sure Webby can help you get it back. But anyway, Vi, you’re the leading expert on the workings of the Shadow Realm, so I need to run something by you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would hardly call myself an expert at the moment,” Violet said. “I have only just begun my research.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reading every English book about the subject is only just beginning?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet shook her head. “Fully understanding the Shadow Realm could take months of study, if not years. I know barely anything at the moment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, but you still know way more than me. I don’t exactly…” Lena waved her hand around. “Research stuff? Read books? Look, don’t tell anyone, but for a shadow construct, I know embarrassingly little about the Shadow Realm. The most experience I have with it is calling upon its power when I need to really lay the smackdown on some clown.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean like what you did against Magica?” Webby asked. “When you were chanting and everything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena nodded. “The Shadow Realm really likes chanting. It’s also pretty hungry for mortal souls, so its usually fairly easy to get it to help you, as long as you make sure not to give it too much magic. Don’t want it getting any ideas or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet pursed her beak. “You speak of it like its alive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All magic is alive,” Lena said. “Or, well—alive might not be the right word, I guess. But magic always </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants</span>
  </em>
  <span> something. Magic users refine that desire into the spells they personally want to cast, but at the end of the day, its the magic that’s doing the work; we just give it guidelines to work by. And so if you stockpile enough wild magic in one place, without anything to manage or channel it, it becomes so powerful in its desire that it can almost seem animalistic. The Shadow Realm, if it had its way, would devour all of reality.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would explain all the ominous warnings against using shadow magic that I’ve run into,” Violet said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s kinda a dicey domain as far as schools of magic go,” Lena said. “That’s why you end up with Magicas. If you use it responsibly, though, it’s usually fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Interesting.” Violet crossed her arms, leaning forward on the table. “Well, if you think my limited knowledge would be of use, I am more than willing to assist you as best I can. What is the problem you’re facing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m trying to find a way to get back to 2027,” Lena explained. “I don’t know why I got sent to the past. It happened overnight, and I don’t think it was anything in this time that pulled me here, since everything seems to be the same as I remember it. My older consciousness was transferred to my younger body, but I don’t know where my younger consciousness ran off to. It certainly isn’t in </span>
  <em>
    <span>here </span>
  </em>
  <span>any more.” She bonked her knuckles against the side of her head for emphasis.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps she’s in your older body back in your home time?” Violet suggested. “A sort of swap would be the most logical conclusion.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, yeah,” Lena said. “Probably. The point is, though, I don’t know how this happened, so I don’t know how I’m supposed to reverse it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you need to reverse it?” Violet asked. “You don’t need to undo traveling into the past, you just need to find a way to travel into the future. Whatever caused this in the first place shouldn’t matter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, but I’m in the wrong body,” Lena said. “My core is ten years immature. I need to reverse that part at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet shuffled through the stack of books on her table, picked one up, and leafed through it, before pushing it towards Lena. “Here’s documentation of a shadow magic ritual designed to replace one’s mortal soul with an eternal magical core. It’s gone horribly wrong for every record of it being attempted, but that’s clearly because mortal souls have much higher entropy than magical cores. The soul is already in a chaotic state, so it cannot break down; however, magical cores, when transplanted into a mortal body, will quickly lose their simulated order and dissolve into loose magic, which results in a rather unpleasant demise.” Violet rolled her eyes. “Honestly, if these sorcerers had possessed even a rudimentary understanding of basic thermodynamic principles, they should have spotted this immediately. I suppose they figured their magic was entirely immune to the realm of science, or some other preposterous notion.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby frowned. “But… I thought magic was, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>defined</span>
  </em>
  <span> by the fact that it wasn’t governed by science.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One would be forgiven for thinking so,” Violet said, “but the more I read, the more magic seems to be a science in its own right. It’s actually quite fascinating; I’m surprised there hasn’t been any formal study in this area among the scientific community.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, god, she was getting started. If Lena let her get started, they’d be here for hours. She had to head this off. “Yeah, so, that’s cool, Vi, but what does this have to do with my situation?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This ritual may have first been created in search of immortality, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have other uses,” Violet said. “My hypothesis is that since you would be swapping a magical core for a magical core, the process would be much smoother. The entropy of both systems should be equal, or at least very close to equal, and any small differences could be covered for by the extra energy the spell provides. Since you wouldn’t be fighting against natural spontaneity, swapping out cores </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> be a perfectly reversible process for multiple versions of yourself, even across time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena took the book. “Interesting. Well, that should solve that problem, then. I can run this by future-you to foolproof it once I get back, but I bet you’ll agree with you. I still need to find a way to actually return to my present, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you cast a time travel spell?” Webby asked. “Is that a thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Time magic is </span>
  <em>
    <span>super</span>
  </em>
  <span> finicky,” Lena said. “Way above my pay grade. I’d need a pre-made artifact or something if I wanted to magic my way back to my present, and even then it’s a risky business. I guess I could also ask Gyro for a scientific solution, but, like, hard no to that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about the Shadow Realm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena turned to Violet, raising an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have encountered many contradictions about the Shadow Realm in my readings thus far,” Violet began, “but one of the rare constants is that the Shadow Realm is routinely described as existing outside of conventional spacetime. They don’t use that exact language, of course, but it would seem that the Shadow Realm is almost like the dead space between different  extradimensionally distinct realities. Thus, it stands to theory that it would also </span>
  <em>
    <span>connect</span>
  </em>
  <span> all parts of reality. If you could navigate it successfully, you should be able to return to your proper time.” She paused. “If this is true, it proves a version of the multiverse theory correct, which would be the scientific breakthrough of the millennium, but that’s another matter entirely.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared at Violet for a long while, then looked down, picking apart the library’s carpet with her eyes as she lost herself deep in thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“…Lena?” Webby asked after a while. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Violet, you’re a genius,” Lena said. “But </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> a mad genius. This is probably the most dangerous plan you could’ve come up with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think it will work?” Violet asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “Assuming I don’t lose myself to the depths of the Shadow Realm? Yes.” She let out a sigh. “It’s been a long, long time since I was last in that place, but I basically lived there for six months after Magica banished me. I know how to survive in there. This… is worth a shot, I think.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad I could help,” Violet said. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind—I have approximately a hundred and forty-five questions that I’d like to ask you before you depart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can interrogate me on the way back to the mansion,” Lena said, already starting to walk out of the library. “Text your dads. Tell them you met a friend and you’re staying for a sleepover.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Webby exclaimed, pumping a fist. “Sleepover time!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A sleepover?” Violet asked, hurrying after them, shoving books into her backpack as she went. “Do you really think it will take that long for you to enter the Shadow Realm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No. The sleepover part is because you and Webby both desperately need to make some more friends. And if everything goes right, Lena—the Lena that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be here, I mean—will be able to join you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Webby said, her voice suddenly growing much quieter as they made their way through the library. “Is she… Is she okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hard to say,” Lena said slowly. “If she really is in 2027, there’d be… a lot for her to take in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby seemed to shrink in on herself. “I’m just… worried. I know you already went through all this, but it was a long time ago for you. From her perspective, she’s been under Magica’s control her entire life until now. Right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“…Yeah,” Lena said softly. “She’s gonna have some stuff to work through. But she’ll have you to help her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby seemed to smile at that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And, hey,” Lena went on, “if it helps, I can at least promise that if she’s swapped places with me, she’s perfectly safe. We really managed to cut down on the amount of people personally out to kill me over the years.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks. That does help,” Webby said. “At least she isn’t in any danger.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re alright with this plan?” Webby asked as she, Lena, and Violet walked into McDuck Manor. “You’ll be in a lot of danger.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena sighed. “I’m sure. I need answers. And like I said, I trust you guys.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet nodded. “We shall do our utmost to ensure your safety.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They made their way into the living room, where Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Beakley were sitting, a book open on the low table in front of the couch. They didn’t seem to be reading it, though; the boys were talking amongst themselves as Mrs. Beakley quietly nursed a cup of tea. She set it aside as the three of them entered, though, giving them a nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, you’re here. Splendid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Webby said you found something?” Lena prompted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed. This artifact very closely matches Webby’s description of what Blot was holding, and seems uniquely relevant to our situation.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beakley reached forward and turned the book to face them. Lena, Webby, and Violet all crowded around it; there was a drawing of a small, circular pocket watch on the page, labeled ‘Malaheim’s Timekeeper.’ The rest of the text was in another language, though, and Lena couldn’t read it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What does it say?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Malaheim’s Timekeeper is an old magical relic forged by Archmage Malaheim,” Webby read. “It allows the user to traverse forwards and backwards in time. It is said that Malaheim sealed the Timekeeper away in his tower for fear it would fall into the wrong hands.” She paused. “The rest of it is just more stuff about Malaheim, and then some really esoteric hints about the location of his tower.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s somewhere in Greenland,” Violet said casually, examining the text. “That’s what these riddles imply, anyway. I’d need more time to pinpoint the exact location.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, not much point in going to the tower if Blot already snatched it,” Louie commented from where he was sipping a can of Pep on a nearby armchair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huey nodded. “True.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This does confirm that time travel is the culprit here, though,” Violet said. “When Lena—2021 Lena, I mean—broke the Timekeeper, it must have sent her back in time to 2017.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And it sent me forward?” Lena asked. “How does that work? I wasn’t the one who broke it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s… hard to say,” Violet admitted. “Perhaps two instances of yourself simply couldn’t fill the same space, so your older self appearing in your place pushed you out, so to speak. If there was already a link established between the two times, it’s not hard to imagine that you would’ve ridden that link in the other direction and ended up here. That’s just a theory, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby huffed, still staring at the book. “I don’t think we’ll be able to get much more than theories out of this thing. It’s so vague—it hardly says anything about how the Timekeeper actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>works!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Phantom Blot was planning on using it, though, right?” Huey said. “He must know more about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then the plan is the same,” Beakley said, throwing the book shut and standing up. “We set a trap, and stop him once and for all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, and how do we do that?” Dewey asked. “Lena’s the only one who can counter his crazy magic gauntlet, right? But she’s young and stuff now, so… Wait.” He paused, face scrunched up in thought. “Wait, are we </span>
  <em>
    <span>older than Lena</span>
  </em>
  <span> right now?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Lena said, eyes widened. “No. No!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god, we are,” Huey said. “She’s only thirteen right now; we’re a year older.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A devilish smirk spread across Louie’s face. “Oh ho ho… Who’s the twerp now, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still you!” Lena insisted, pointing a finger at him. “I’m still taller than you dweebs!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>emotionally</span>
  </em>
  <span> taller,” Louie said, putting a hand over his chest in a self-satisfied way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena crossed her arms. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, don’t worry. You’ll understand when you’re older.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch it, Greeny—as soon as I figure out how my stupid magic works, you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> getting it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” Huey said, putting out his hands placatingly. “Let’s just all take a deep breath. Dewey had a good point. How are we gonna take on Blot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have contacts that should be able to track his movements,” Beakley said, taking out her phone. “That will tell us where we should set the trap. One minute.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I believe I should be able to cast a simple cloaking spell that will allow us to stay near Lena without alerting Phantom Blot to the ambush,” Violet said. “From there, it’s just a matter of overwhelming him before he has a chance to absorb Lena’s magic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If we can break his gauntlet, or even just get it off of him, the rest of the fight’ll be really easy,” Webby said. “I won’t be able to do it alone, though. We’re going to need backup.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who’d you have in mind?” Dewey asked. “I’d call Gos, but St. Canard is too far away. She wouldn’t be able to get here in time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boyd is still off with Fenton and Gyro hunting down that rogue coffee maker that turned evil,” Huey said. “So he’s out, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry!” Webby said, pulling out her phone. “I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> who to bring along.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tapped out a text, and Lena immediately heard the sound of feet running on the floor above them. She turned her head to follow the footsteps as they headed for the stairs, and then quickly approached the room where they were talking; a second later, the door burst open, and two girls scrambled into the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Webby said we were needed for a super special top secret mission?” the one on the right exclaimed. She had her hair pulled back in pigtails, and was wearing a cute overall dress over a blue, puffy-sleeved blouse. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re the best at missions,” the one on the left said confidently. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail, and was wearing a yellow cardigan over a dark yellow blouse, paired with a flowy skirt that was a brighter yellow. “What do you need us to do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them and Webby. They looked freakishly similar; god, they even had colored hair bows. Was Webby </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> part of a set of color-coded triplets? Had Huey Dewey and Louie infected her with their dweeby ways? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby seemed to notice her confusion. “Lena, these are my younger sisters, May and June! May’s the yellow one and June’s the blue one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uhhhh.” Lena blinked. “Okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena had an incident with the Phantom Blot, and there were some time shenanigans,” Webby explained to May and June. “This Lena is from four years ago, during the Shadow War with Magica.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought</span>
  </em>
  <span> you looked shorter,” May said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>June just made a face. “Ugh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phantom Blot.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I never liked that guy. He always said I was annoying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—sorry.” Lena looked between the two of them. “I didn’t know Webby had younger sisters?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t!” Webby said. “They’re new.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re clones of Webby created by a shadowy organization in order to help bring down Scrooge McDuck once and for all,” May said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But then we decided that was dumb,” June said. “So we became good guys! Like you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like me?” Lena looked down at herself. Sure, she’d decided to go against Magica ever since that day in the Other Bin, but could she really call herself </span>
  <em>
    <span>good?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby reached down and gave her a reassuring hand-squeeze. Lena let out a breath, and squeezed back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet cleared her throat. “We need more information in order to address Lena’s chronological displacement. Phantom Blot may be the only person from whom we can get that information. Thus, we need to capture him for an interrogation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want us to beat him up?” June asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>May smiled. “Sure! We can do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad to hear it,” Beakley said, staring down at her phone with a scrutinous gaze. “Because Phantom Blot’s just been spotted prowling around the downtown shopping district.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No time to waste, then,” Dewey said, pumping a fist. “Let’s go capture a bad guy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone, grab what you need, and get to limo out front in two minutes,” Beakley instructed. “And remember, kids: we only have one shot at this. Let’s make it count.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The plan was simple: tomorrow morning, Lena, Webby, and Dewey would head up to Greenland and explore the tower said to hold Malaheim’s Timekeeper. Violet would be on call should they find anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But there was still an entire night until then, and that’s how Lena found herself once again sitting across from Webby at the little table in her—their?—apartment. This time, there was a large box of pizza opened between the two of them, from Pelican Pizza.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t know it yet,” Webby said between bites, “but this is your </span>
  <em>
    <span>favorite </span>
  </em>
  <span>pizza place in Duckburg.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I believe it,” Lena said, swallowing. “It’s pretty good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmhmm. You’ll have to wait a couple years for it to open, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shame.” Lena reached for another slice, her eyes drifting over and meeting Webby’s. Webby gave her one of those sunshine smiles of hers, and Lena briefly tried to return it before looking away as she brought the new slice to her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby saw through it. She always did. “Something on your mind?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing, really, it’s—” Lena sighed. “It’s embarrassing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can talk to me,” Webby said simply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s… I’ve been thinking about Webby. My Webby, I mean. Back in 2021.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?” Webby’s smile edged dangerously close to smirk territory. “And what sort of things have you been thinking about the lovely little lady?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up. You know what.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby giggled. “Oooooh, Lena has a cruuuuuush!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s cheeks were burning. “You—you’re literally engaged to old-me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t change the subject,” Webby said, poking at Lena’s elbow. “We’re talking about you and Webby!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> Webby!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> not the one you have a crush on,” Webby said, giggling some more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is exactly why I didn’t want to bring it up,” Lena huffed, shoving some more pizza into her mouth in an attempt to mask the blush.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, sorry,” Webby said. She didn’t really seem that sorry, though. “Why were you thinking about her? Do you miss her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, not that. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> miss her—not that you aren’t great or anything, but you get what I mean. You probably miss your Lena, too, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby’s face grew a bit more serious at that. “Yeah, I do.” She shrugged, her smile quickly reappearing. “She’ll find her way back to me, though. She always does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena sighed. “See, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> the shit I’m talking about. It’s so clear you two love each other just from the way you talk about her. I’ve—I’ve had a crush on Webby for years now, but I didn’t really understand what I was feeling until a few months ago. I wanted to confess, but I kept talking myself out of it because I thought you just wanted to be friends. I mean, no offense, but it’s kind of all ‘friendship this’ and ‘best friends that’ with you. So I never really considered that you’d ever like me back in… </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> way. Seeing you here, though, seeing all this, it just—it completely proves all of that wrong. I guess I don’t really know what to do with that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby let out a low chuckle, a far-away look in her eye. “Oh, yeah, the whole ‘best friend’ thing… God, I was such a mess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, at first, I was just really excited to finally have a friend,” Webby said. “Huey Dewey and Louie always felt more family than friend, even from the beginning, so you were my first. But once I realized I had stronger feelings for you, I got scared that you wouldn’t reciprocate. I was terrified that my crush would make everything awkward and ruin what we had, and what we had was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>special </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me, so I doubled down on the whole friendship thing and just yearned from afar for, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span> before you actually asked me out.” She shook her head, sighing. “It was so bad. The triplets kept trying to get me to confess, but I could just never bring myself to do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena blinked at her. “Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>years?</span>
  </em>
  <span> How long did you have a crush on me for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, jeez.” Webby put on a thoughtful expression as she ate her pizza. “It must have been a little bit before that whole thing with the moonlander invasion. I think I first recognized that my feelings were more than platonic during the dream fiasco on our first friendaversary, but I didn’t fully accept until a little bit after that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared at the table. “I’m such an idiot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby giggled. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. We were both idiots!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I almost feel like this is cheating,” Lena said, resting her cheek in her hand. “Like, I’ve spent so many nights staring up at my ceiling wondering if you’d ever like me back, and then Phantom Blot pulls some magical time bullshit, and boom! Now I know it all works out perfectly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well…” Webby smiled softly at her. “We didn’t just coast our way to our engagement or anything. There’s a lot of work involved. Communication, boundary-setting… even fights sometimes. A relationship—</span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> one like ours—is a lot more than it looks like on the surface. Besides, if Violet’s theory is right, then there’s no guarantee your future will look anything like this. You’ll have to forge your own path no matter what you learn over here. I’m not giving you the keys to the kingdom; just a little push to get you started. You know?” She shrugged. “Plus, even if this adventure works out and we can get you back to your own time tomorrow, and even if you ask your Webby out that same day, you’d only really have a few months’ head start on how my version of things went.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena let out a contemplative hum. “I guess that’s all true. I’ll see what happens once I get back, then. I just hope I don’t screw it up somehow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Lena.” Webby shook her head. “Take it from me; there is </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> you could do to screw it up. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really understand all this timey-spacey mumbo jumbo, but I do know one thing, and it’s this: you and me? We’re a multiversal constant. I don’t care if it’s now, or in a different timeline, or in some crazy reality where we’re pirates or aliens or whatever—we’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> find each other. I know it. I can feel it in my heart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena stared at her for a few seconds, then laughed, finishing off the last of her pizza. “Jeez, Pink. That’s the sappiest thing I’ve ever heard, but the dumbest part is I believe it. I guess we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>both </span>
  </em>
  <span>sentimental fools, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby let out a bright giggle. “Oh, we’re totally hopeless.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whew.” Lena stretched, letting out a yawn. “I think if I have to think about magic or time travel or alternate dimensions or whatever for another minute I’m gonna explode. Do you wanna just watch a dumb movie or something before bed?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s literally the best idea I’ve heard all day,” Webby said, standing up. She gathered up their plates and piled them in the sink, then tossed out the pizza box. “C’mon, I know just the one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Just the one’ turned out to be a dumb little romcom that was certainly not the best, but also had an unplacable charm to it that made it just perfect for the moment. Lena curled up underneath a blanket on the couch in front of the TV, while Webby hugged a pillow to her chest as she leaned against the arm rest, sat in a way that Lena couldn’t possibly imagine was at all comfortable but seemed to be doing just fine for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the movie went on, Lena’s eyelids began to droop, and she found herself laying her head down against Webby’s side. She didn’t seem to mind, though, occasionally playing absentmindedly with Lena’s hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena didn’t really remember how the movie ended, but when she woke up the next morning, alone on the couch, expertly tucked into her blanket, with Webby’s pillow carefully placed under her head and the smell of fresh pancakes in the air, all she could think of was how lucky her older self was.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey all! If you follow <a href="https://webby-vanderslap.tumblr.com/">my Tumblr</a> you've probably heard of this already, but I was a mod and writer for the recently-released <em>Because We're Family</em> DuckTales charity zine! It's an 80 page zine full of amazing art and writing by the DuckTales community, with a focus on family and LGBTQ+ identity. Plus, it's FREE, with an optional donation to a COVID relief charity! <a href="https://slimer509.itch.io/because-were-family-zine">You can download it here!</a></p>
<p>Because of that, my other fic, Crossing the Streams, ending soon, and other life stuff, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make next week's update on time. We'll see, though! Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you later!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Event Horizon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena performs a dark ritual. Lena picks a fight. Lena climbs a tower.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2017</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s braid dangled over her shoulder as she crawled across McDuck Manor’s driveway on her hands and knees, scratching at the asphalt with dark purple sidewalk chalk from a box that Webby had scrounged up out of the garage. She drew a large circle in the middle of the driveway, then traced a smaller ring inside of it, forming a simple base for a spell circle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, I need a lighter color now,” she said, handing the stick of chalk back to Webby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about a pink?” Webby said cheerily, exchanging the purple for a bright pastel pink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena smirked. “Should’ve known.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> that this can be done with children’s sidewalk chalk?” Violet asked skeptically from off to the side, beak buried in one of her books. “It says here that it’s important to use high quality materials when constructing spell circles.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to that stuffy, stuck-up archmage bullcrap, Vi,” Lena said as she etched a string of runes in the space between the two circles. “Like, sure, purified salts and virgin blood and all that junk provides the smoothest channelings, but you can use any material if you’re willing to get a little funky. You just have to figure out how to work with it. One time on a job, I drew a circle for a banishing ritual in pink glitter pen because that’s what Webby happened to have on hand. Another time I drew one in some mud with a stick. A good spell caster isn’t the one who knows all the correct materials, they’re the one who knows how to make due with what they have.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet nodded along raptly. “Fascinating.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you don’t mind, though,” Lena said as she moved on to drawing the inner spell lattice, “I’d appreciate it if you double-checked my runes for me. Those </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>pretty important to get right, and I’ve never been very good at remembering them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It would be my pleasure,” Violet said, flipping through her book to another page as she advanced towards the circle to inspect the runes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could get very far, though, Lena heard the sound of the front doors of the manor opening, and Webby perked up. “Oh! Hey guys!” she greeted, raising her hand in a big wave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena looked up to see Huey, Dewey, and Louie walking down the driveway towards them. “Oh. The dorks are here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo,” Louie called as they approached.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you find anything at the library?” Huey asked. Then he seemed to notice Violet, and his expression brightened. “Oh! Hello, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Huey, and these are my brothers, Dewey and Louie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet let out a hum, staring down at the circle. “I think this perthro is supposed to be a berkano.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vi, the boys just introduced themselves,” Lena said. “Also, you’re right. How’d I miss that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she moved to fix the rune, Violet looked up in confusion at the triplets. Then she saw Huey’s extended hand, and seemed to figure out what was happening. “Sorry. Violet Sabrewing,” she said, taking Huey’s hand and shaking it curtly before returning to her book.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you seem… nice,” Dewey said. “So, what are you drawing? It looks cool.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A spell circle to open a portal to the Shadow Realm,” Lena answered easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, is anyone else concerned by that?” Louie asked. “Because I’m concerned by that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huey gulped. “No, no. I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> concerned.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it sounds awesome!” Dewey said. “I’ve never been to the Shadow Realm before. What’s it like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes. “Relax, doofuses. I’m the only one who’s gonna go through. We think I can use it to get back to my normal timeline.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So when you, you know, open this portal,” Louie said, waving a hand around. “Are you sure that nothing’s going to, uh… </span>
  <em>
    <span>escape?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll close it as soon as I go through,” Lena assured. “Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with most of the surface level apparitions before; if anyone tries anything, I’ll take care of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, stuff lives in the Shadow Realm?” Webby asked, eyes going wide. “I thought it was just, like, an endless black void.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, that’s the gist, but like…” Lena shrugged. “Look, like I said, I’m not really an expert on the Shadow Realm, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a lot of experience with its denizens. Because, for the most part, whenever some random idiot with a spellbook and a death wish summons one of those jokers, it ends up being </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> job to wrangle them back where they belong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You fight shadow demons?” Dewey asked. “That’s so cool! What are they like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, they’re a bit hard to describe, Bluey,” Lena said. “Extradimensional horrors beyond mortal comprehension and all that jazz.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’ve read about this,” Violet mused. “Tulpas, correct? Manifestations of negative emotion that stalk you from across the Veil, waiting for a chance to break through and drag you back into the Shadow Realm, trapping you forever in its depths.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, tulpas really aren’t that bad,” Lena said. “They’re kinda cute, actually, at least when they’re not doing the whole kidnapping thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think Webby has skewed your definition of cute,” Huey said, a mildly horrified look on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably. Point is, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> guys you need to worry about are a lot worse than the tulpas. But again, I’ll take care of it if they try anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just tell me when you’re gonna open the portal so I can be far, far away,” Louie said simply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena finished the spell lattice and wiped her brow, handing the chalk off back to Webby. “Alright, Pink. Gonna need something really dark now. Maybe a red if you’ve got it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Coming right up!” Webby announced, fishing a dark brownish-red out of the box and passing it over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena got to work on the final bit of the spell circle, beginning to outline the shape of a skull in the very middle of the lattice. “Alright, almost ready. Get those candles set up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is getting more and more occult by the second,” Huey mumbled as Violet began setting the candles up around the circle. Webby followed along with a lighter, setting a small flame dancing atop each wick as she went. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena heard the mansion’s doors open again, and looked up. She frowned when she saw Scrooge trotting down the steps, twirling his cane and peering over at them through his spectacles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what might you kids be up to, eh?” he asked as he made his way over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Uncle Scrooge,” Webby and the triplets chorused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a kid,” Lena called back, returning her attention to the spell circle. She drew in little flame symbols where the skull’s eyes should be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, lassie, but you’ll need a good couple more decades before you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>grown up,” Scrooge said with a chuckle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re actually insufferable sometimes, did you know that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge scoffed. “Now, that’s an awfully rude thing to say to—is that a </span>
  <em>
    <span>spell circle?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Scrooge exclaimed suddenly, staring down at Lena. “In the middle of my driveway?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uhhh.” Webby smiled nervously. “…No?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge, perhaps unsurprisingly, didn’t buy it. “Why wasn’t this run by my first? How many times do I have to say it: this is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>no magic</span>
  </em>
  <span> household!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Except for all the magic artifacts laying around in the garage,” Huey pointed out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And all the creatures in the… you know,” Webby said. “The secret place you told me not to talk about openly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly, because those are </span>
  <em>
    <span>contained </span>
  </em>
  <span>where they cannae cause any trouble!” Scrooge said, throwing up a hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You and Phantom Blot should start a club or something,” Lena mumbled as she added some fangs and horns onto the skull. To be honest, she was mostly free styling at this point, but that’s usually what she did when it came to the central sigil. Violet said she had good intuition; Lena figured it was more likely it just didn’t really matter all too much as long as you got the general idea across. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Candles are set,” Violet said, ignoring Scrooge entirely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Circle’s done too.” Lena stood up and tossed the chalk back into the box. “Alright. Everyone back up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Louie’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re doing this </span>
  <em>
    <span>now?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet hastily shuffled her books around, pulling out a small journal. “I can’t believe I’m about to witness a real shadow sorceress in action. Not to mention a glimpse into the Shadow Realm itself; this shall be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fascinating.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now hold on just a minute,” Scrooge said, reaching out with his cane and hooking Lena’s arm. “You still haven’t told me what you’re actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing</span>
  </em>
  <span> here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Going home,” Lena said, brushing his cane away. “Through the Shadow Realm. And if everything goes well, then I’ll be replaced by a much smaller and much more insecure version of myself, which means </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to cut the ‘magic is evil’ crap, because she’s already having a hard enough time learning to love herself for who she is without your stupid vendetta making everything worse. Now: everyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>back up.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrooge frowned, but didn’t say anything as he backed away with the others. Webby was the only one still at Lena’s side, looking up at her with wide, wondering eyes. “Will I ever see you again?” she asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena laughed, reaching out and ruffling her hair. “Sure will, Pink. In about ten years.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess so,” Webby said with a smile before stepping back to stand beside Violet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena closed her eyes, and the yard was deathly quiet for a few seconds. Then she took a deep breath, and activated her magic. The circle flashed with life below her, the chalk emitting a radiant glow, and the candles surged with a series of </span>
  <em>
    <span>fwoomps,</span>
  </em>
  <span> one after another, turning from modest orange flames to raging deep purples that flickered and danced around her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Dewey said, “I take it back. I’m officially concerned now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this… supposed to happen?” Huey asked, taking a step back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax,” Violet said. “This is all normal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we have different definitions of that word,” Louie said from where he was standing a few extra yards behind the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena tuned them out as she felt the power of the spell begin to overtake her, filling her veins with magic and lifting her up into the air. She felt her eyes cloud over black with shadows, and her vision blurred, like the Shadow Realm was submerged underwater, and she was eye level with the waterline. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I call upon the Void untold</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Release me from this mortal fold;</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>As darkness falls, shadows rise,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>To split the Veil before my eyes!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the final words of her chant spilled out, a long, impossibly dark crack snapped into place in the air before her, growing steadily bigger with a loud, echoing groan. Lena heard the others shouting, but she couldn’t hear them; instead, she slipped through the hole in the world, and then snapped her fingers. With a deafening popping noise, the portal snapped closed, leaving Lena in oppressing darkness.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Webby?” Lena called out as she aimlessly wandered around downtown. “Violet? Where’d you guys go? You were supposed to stay with me! Now I’m super alone and vulnerable!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She got some strange looks from some of the pedestrians around her, but otherwise no response. She groaned, twirling around by a public fountain. Beakley had said Blot had been spotted around here, so where was he?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hellooooo?” She cupped her hands in front of her beak, her voice echoing across the storefronts. “Webbyyyy, where are you? It would really suck if someone tried to steal my magic right now, because I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>super</span>
  </em>
  <span> defenseless!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She spent a few more minutes walking through the area and shouting, but there was still no sign of Blot. Eventually, she flopped onto a bench outside of a CVS and let out a resigned trill. “Guys, I don’t think he’s around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just then, a bell chimed, and Lena turned towards the front doors of the store to see Phantom Blot walk out, several bags of groceries in each hand. He didn’t seem to notice Lena, turning the other direction and making his way towards the nearby parking garage. Lena stared dumbfounded for a few seconds, before clearing her throat, and standing up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no!” she called, pointing a finger at Blot. “It’s the Phantom Blot! And I’m all defenseless and alone!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Blot mumbled, turning around. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Lena, and he immediately dropped his bags, raising his gauntleted hand to point at her. “Aha! At last, I’ve found you! And with no sign of that annoying pink stain to boot. Behold; your doom!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised his glove, and a laser beam shot out. Lena leapt to the side, and a small magical explosion blew up at her feet. She yelped as she tumbled to the ground, scraping her elbow on the street. Various screams and shouts rose up around them as the shoppers in this part of the mall fled the scene.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, guys?” Lena called as Blot charged up another laser. “Now would be a good time to step in!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now!” shouted Beakley’s voice from somewhere off to the side, and an instant later, she, Webby, May, June, and Violet appeared by the storefront, Violet still glowing slightly from channeling the cloaking spell. May and June immediately launched themselves at Blot, while Webby leapt towards Lena, picking her up and jumping out of the way just before Blot’s second laser could collide with her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Lena said as Webby set her down by the fountain. Violet ran over to join them, pulling open her spellbook and flipping through it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby smiled. “No problem. You two sit tight here for now where Blot can’t sap your magic; this shouldn’t take long.” Then she took off towards where Blot was fending off the twins.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gah!” he exclaimed as May delivered a straight punch to his stomach. “You brought the </span>
  <em>
    <span>clones</span>
  </em>
  <span> with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi Mr. Blot!” June said, flipping over his head and kicking him hard in the back of the neck. “Been a while!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Insolent pests!” Blot chided, reaching over his shoulder and snatching June out of the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“June!” May called in alarm, but Blot kicked out at her, forcing her to jump back. He followed up by throwing June at her as hard as he could, only for Beakley to intercept, catching the girl in her arms with a grunt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blot wasn’t done yet, though, as he raised his gauntlet. Another bright beam shot forward, catching Beakley on the shoulder—she dropped June and let out a cry as she was blown backwards, but she was immediately replaced by Webby, who sprung forward and spun around to land a kick against the side of Blot’s stomach. Blot’s grunt of pain was in sync with Beakley’s, who had landed hard on her hands and knees a few feet in front of Lena and Violet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The gauntlet!” Webby called out, before slipping under Blot’s legs to avoid a grab.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>May and June immediately ran forwards, latching themselves around Blot’s arm while he was distracted with Webby and tugging at his gauntlet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s… not… budging!” May said through grit teeth as she strained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll have to try harder than that, you fools!” Blot taunted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised his arm, bringing May and June along with it, and his gauntlet began glowing. With a roar, he brought it down—Webby leapt forward at the same instant, grabbing her sisters on the way and landing a few yards out from where Blot’s clenched fist impacted the ground. There was a deafening boom as a nova of magical energy exploded around Blot, and the girls only barely managed to outrun the blast, pausing once they reached Beakley to catch their breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s only been a day, yet he’s already stockpiled a staggering amount of magic in that gauntlet,” Violet observed. “He’s trying to wrap this up once and for all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pshh! We can take him,” June said confidently, brushing off her dress.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just need a way to get that gauntlet off,” May said, stroking her chin. “It was weird; it felt like it was glued to his arm somehow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wonder if he’s using magic to keep it secured,” Violet wondered aloud.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby swallowed. “Uh, guys? He’s coming.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena looked up, and, sure enough, Phantom Blot was stalking his way towards them, chuckling. He raised his gauntlet, and it once again began to shine with stolen magic. “How nice for you to all huddle up like that. Makes my job easier!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Scatter!” Beakley called.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They did just that, and not a moment too soon as a giant laser exploded right in the middle of where they’d been talking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’ve got a plan!” Violet called in the chaos, desperately scanning through her book. “Try to get at his gauntlet again; I’ll take care of the rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On it,” Webby said as she picked herself up and rushed towards Blot. She ducked under a laser, then leapt over a kick, landing on his extended leg and using it as a springboard. She shot upwards, bow flapping wildly in the wind, and struck a harsh uppercut against Blot’s chin. She immediately pushed off his chest, backflipping around and kicking him in the cheek in the process.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stuck the landing a couple feet in front of him. Blot cursed, rubbing his jaw, and pointed his gauntlet straight at Webby. Before he could fire, though, Beakley launched May and June at him with either hand—the twins slammed into his arm, grabbing on, and Blot stumbled back, his shot going wide. The laser collided against the big neon CVS sign in a spectacular lightshow of sparks and magic, eliciting some more panicked screams from the few scattered civilians still hanging around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gah!” Blot cried, stumbling back. “How many times are you gonna—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Et occidit magicae tuum!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Violet shouted, thrusting out a hand. Her eyes flashed purple, and there was a shattering sound as bright light shone out from under Blot’s gauntlet. “NOW!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>May and June yanked hard, and this time, Blot’s gauntlet slipped right off, clattering to the concrete. “NO!” he cried, reaching out for it, but Webby beat him to it, picking it up and holding it out away from him. Then Beakley approached with a length of rope and a stern look, and soon enough, Phantom Blot was securely tied up, scowling at them from under his cowl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now,” Webby said, putting her hands on her hips and leaning in with a frown, “start talking.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena looked out the window of the Sunchaser as they flew, stretches of wilderness and the occasional sprawling farmland slowly scrolling by on the ground below. This wasn’t her first time joining in on a Duck family adventure by a longshot, but the sights never ceased to awe her. While she’d seen a lot of the world on her journey from Vesuvius to Duckburg, she hadn’t exactly had time to appreciate it; plus, even if she hadn’t had Magica nagging her the whole time, it still couldn’t have compared to the view from up here in the clouds. It was something else entirely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, passengers,” Dewey said over the intercom from the cockpit. “Please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare to land. And as always, thank you for flying Dewey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena turned to Webby as they buckled themselves in. “Does he really—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, he really says that every time,” Webby finished, rolling her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The plane landed soon after that, in a big, empty meadow, and the three of them stepped out onto the crisp, snow-dusted grass. About fifty yards in front of them, a massive stone tower stood, climbing up at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> ten stories into the air. It was old, with vines tangling themselves around its body and moss eating up its base, but it at least seemed stable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if that isn’t an ancient wizard tower, I don’t know what is,” Dewey said, putting his hands on his hips as he stared up at it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think we could just scale the outside to the top floor and blow up the wall?” Webby asked, putting a hand over her eyes to block out the sun. “Like, the Timekeeper is probably on the top floor, right? And all the traps and trials would be on the inside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a ton of magic coming off of this thing,” Lena said, shivering and pulling her jacket tighter around herself. It was a fluffy pink one she was borrowing from Webby; none of old-her’s jackets fit her like she was now. “I’m not sure we should be trying to game the system here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Plus, where’s the fun in the easy way?” Dewey said. “C’mon, Webs, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re itching to see what kind of traps this tower has.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm. Well, I suppose you two bring up some good points,” Webby conceded, a smile on her face. “Alright then. Let’s see what this place is made of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They approached the tower, and circled around it until they found a tall wooden door inset into the stone. A message was engraved into the wall next to the door, but Lena couldn’t read the language. “What’s it say?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby leaned in. “Beware all you who enter my tower, for it is guarded by the most robust of defenses, both magical and mechanical, known to man. My life’s work rests in my study at the top; if you are skilled enough to reach it, then you are worthy enough to wield it. Sincerely, M. Malaheim.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, clearly his traps aren’t all they’re cracked up to be if Phantom Blot was able to get this thing,” Lena grumbled. “I’d hardly call him the ‘worthy wielder’ of a powerful artifact.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> could do it, how hard could this be?” Dewey said, waving a hand around. “This should be a piece of cake.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed the door open and walked inside. The ground floor seemed entirely empty except for a ladder at the far wall that led up to the next floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena frowned, expanding her magical senses. “I’m not feeling any particularly strong magic in this room. Maybe the first one’s a freebie?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took a step forward, but Webby grabbed her by the sweater, hauling her back. “Careful. There’s a pressure plate in front of you,” Webby said, pointing to an almost imperceptible indentation in the floor. “Probably hooked up to arrow traps, if those slits in the far wall are anything to go by.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena squinted at the wall, and could just barely make out a few dark spots that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> could be holes for an arrow trap, though it was really too far away for her to tell. “How did you spot all that so quickly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey chuckled. “Well, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> pretty seasoned adventurers. We’ve been doing this a long time, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He carefully walked around the pressure plate, and stepped directly onto a second pressure plate in the process, producing an audible </span>
  <em>
    <span>click.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Razor-sharp arrows immediately began whizzing towards them from across the room—Lena hastily reached out a hand, and caught them in her telekinesis before they were skewered, but just barely, with the closest one hovering a few inches out from Dewey’s chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were saying?” Lena said, giving him a glare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I, uh.” Dewey coughed. “Yeah, that one’s my bad.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, so there are multiple plates,” Webby said. “We need to be careful here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or we can just… you know.” Lena concentrated, extending her telekinesis spell to lift up Dewey, Webby, and herself. “Fly over there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or that,” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena carried the three of them to the other side of the room, and only once they were all safely on the ladder did she let her telekinesis drop. The arrows all clattered to the floor, setting off several more pressure plates and causing a storm of arrows to shoot out of the walls around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yikes,” Dewey said as the central area of the room became a maelstrom of sharpened wood and stone. “Well, uh, one floor down?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One floor down,” Webby echoed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They reached the next room, which featured four large suits of armor against the walls, each carrying a different type of weapon; one had a sword, one had a flail, one had an axe, and one had a crossbow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>those</span>
  </em>
  <span> are obviously going to come to life and try to kill us,” Lena said flatly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, a hundred percent,” Dewey agreed, and as if on cue, there was the sound of groaning metal as the four suits turned to face them, raising their weapons.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena, can you dispel the enchantments animating them?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena swallowed. “Uh. No? Don’t know how to do that yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Webby mumbled. “Sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can, uh, blast them with giant lasers?” Lena proposed. “This body has </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much magic in it; I should be able to just go crazy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Giant lasers sound great, actually,” Webby said, unhooking her grappling hook and bending her knees into a battle stance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s do this!” Dewey exclaimed enthusiastically, punching his fist into his palm. This produced a metallic </span>
  <em>
    <span>clang,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he let out a wheeze of pain. “Oh, god, forgot that hand’s metal. Ouch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby rolled her eyes. “Focus, guys. Here they come.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*   *   *</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two hours later, Lena was lying face-down on the floor of one of the seemingly endless rooms as Dewey and Webby tried to solve some color-based magic puzzle a few feet away. Lena had tried helping them at first, but had quickly given up. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> puzzles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think this square’s supposed to be blue,” Dewey said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby groaned. “You’re saying that about </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I know, but I really mean it this time!” Dewey insisted. “Look, this one’s blue, then you make that one yellow and that one red—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! I see now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a series of chiming sounds as the two of them messed around with the magical interface, turning the squares in the grid various bright colors according to some unseen pattern that Lena neither understood nor cared about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And then this corner has to be red-green-yellow-yellow,” Webby went on. “And then blue, red, blue, yellow, green, red, and—there!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A small uplifting tune played, and Lena looked up just in time to see the trapdoor to the next floor swing open. “Fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dewey, you’re a genius!” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? I mean, uh, thanks!” Dewey laughed. “I don’t know how you finished up the rest of it so fast, though, I only had a few tiles figured out after that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, you’re both amazing,” Lena said, waving a hand at them dismissively. “Now let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could’ve helped, you know,” Dewey said as they started up the ladder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust me,” Lena said, “it would’ve gone even </span>
  <em>
    <span>slower </span>
  </em>
  <span>if I’d helped.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next room was different. Instead of a flat roof, it was conical, and there was no ladder to speak of. The walls were covered with papers, housing various equations and texts that Lena couldn’t understand, and there was a podium in the center of the room, with a small pocket watch floating a couple inches above it, rotating slowly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that it?” Dewey asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s it,” Lena confirmed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look at all this research,” Webby said, looking around. “Vi’s gonna have a field day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena walked towards the pedestal, reaching forward and picking up the stopwatch. “So… what now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should call Violet,” Webby said. “She’ll be able to figure out what all this—ah!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby shouted in alarm, and Lena whirled around just in time to see a large, menacing crack appear in the air between them. It slowly widened with a loud, awful groan, and seemed to suck in all the light, opening into a complete and total blackness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Dewey said, taking a step back, “that’s not good.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And we're back! Thanks for sticking with me. The plan is to stick to weekly updates from here on out. We're approaching the end! I'm excited...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena braves the Eternal Void. Lena interrogates the Phantom Blot. Lena meets... Lena?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>????</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This takes me back,” Lena mumbled as she peered through the Veil from the other side, taking in the ghostly, inverted afterimage of the real world around her. She saw the shadows of Webby, Violet, Scrooge and the boys staring at the spot she’d disappeared, the spell circle still letting off a faint glow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fascinating,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Violet mumbled, scribbling in her notebook.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Is she…”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dewey swallowed.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Will she be okay?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course she’ll be okay,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Webby said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“She’s Lena! She can do anything!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s hope so, Pink,” Lena muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as she would’ve liked to stick around and eavesdrop, though, she didn’t want to spend any more time in this place than she had to. She kicked off from the ‘ground’ beneath her feet, and soared away from this pocket of reality, out into the inky, untethered depths of the Shadow Realm. This place was the nothingness between universes; the infinite darkness that surrounded every distinct moment of every distinct dimension. Now all </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> had to do was find the correct reality bubble, out of the literally infinite options, and pierce back through to where her proper body would be waiting, hopefully still in one piece.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WHAT MORTAL DARES ENTER THE DOMAIN OF SHADOWS?” a voice boomed out suddenly, coming from a direction that didn’t align with her understanding of three-dimensional space. Several thick, shadowy tentacles squirmed into existence around Lena, and a giant eye and tooth-filled mouth faded into being in front of her. The eye was bloodshot, and stared at her with a crippling intensity. “PREPARE TO FACE YOUR DOOM!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena activated her magic and gave the entity a withering look. “Aserith. Been a while.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The eye blinked. “OH, UM—HELLO, SHADOWKEEPER. I DIDN’T REALIZE YOU WERE, UH, DROPPING BY TODAY. MY BAD. I’LL JUST GET OUT OF YOUR HAIR—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nuh uh,” Lena said, reaching out and grabbing one of Aserith’s tentacles in her left hand, squeezing it tight. They let out a horrific, demonic, strangled cry, their other tentacles writhing around in protest. “Have you been hunting mortals again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WHAAAAAT?” Aserith asked, their eye flicking nervously to the side. “ME? I WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena raised an eyebrow. “Then what was all that about me facing my doom earlier, hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS YOU,” Aserith mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I gathered,” Lena said. “But if I had been a </span>
  <em>
    <span>mortal</span>
  </em>
  <span>—like, for example, one of my family members—you would’ve eaten my soul? Is that what you’re saying?”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NO, NO, NOT AT ALL! IT’S JUST A LITTLE FUN!” Aserith pleaded. “C’MON, SHADOWKEEPER, HAVEN’T YOU HAD ANY FUN BEFORE? PLAYED A LITTLE PRANK ON A MORTAL OR TWO? JUST A HARMLESS SCARE! I SWEAR, I HAVEN’T BEEN EATING SOULS FOR A WHILE NOW. I’VE GONE COLD TURKEY!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmhmm. And if I talked to Naverith about this, they’d say the same?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T TRUST ANYTHING NAVERITH SAYS,” Aserith protested, waving a tentacle about, their eye narrowing. “TRICKING PEOPLE IS, LIKE, THEIR WHOLE THING! LIES COME OUT OF THEIR MOUTH AS OFTEN AS SOULS DON’T GO INTO MINE ANYMORE, WHICH—AS I SAID—IS ALWAYS.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes. Ugh; </span>
  <em>
    <span>siblings.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Okay, well, look, dude. You’re in luck, because I need a favor. So if you help me out, I’ll overlook this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HA! SINCE WHEN DOES THE SHADOWKEEPER COME TO US FOR FAVORS?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Lena said. “And stop with the whole ‘shadowkeeper’ thing while you’re at it. I keep you guys out of </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> time period in </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> dimension. I’m not that special.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THERE AREN’T AS MANY DIMENSIONS LEFT TO CLAIM IN THIS CORNER OF THE REALM AS YOU’D THINK, SHADOWKEEPER,” Aserith said. “MOST ARE ALREADY CONQUERED, AND THE OTHERS EITHER DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MAGIC TO SUMMON US, OR ARE COUNTLESS EONS AWAY FROM US. THE LOCALS AROUND HERE REALLY THOUGHT WE’D STUMBLED UPON SOMETHING WITH THAT IDIOTIC MAGICA WOMAN, BUT THEN YOU CAME ALONG AND RUINED IT FOR US. SO, YEAH, YOU’VE GOT A REPUTATION AROUND HERE ALL RIGHT.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even more reason not to stick around, then,” Lena said. “Look, someone transferred my consciousness across time and space into a different splinter of myself. I need to find the location of my proper body. Or, well—the location of its shadow, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“OH, YES. BECAUSE I KNOW ALL ABOUT HOW TO DO THAT.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena snarled, tightening her grip on their tentacle. “For your sake, I really hope you do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“OW! OUCH, LADY, OKAY! JEEZ, I’LL HELP!” Lena loosened her grip again, and Aserith took a hot, shuddery breath. “ALL I KNOW IS THAT YOU SHOULD STILL HAVE A CONNECTION TO YOUR PROPER BODY,” they explained. “EVEN IF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS GETS MOVED AROUND, IT’S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FULLY BREAK A CONNECTION LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU. I CAN TRACE THAT LINK BACK FOR YOU, BUT I’LL NEED TO LOOK AT YOUR CORE—OW! HEY!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, nice try, bub,” Lena said, squeezing his tentacle again. She let up shortly, though. “I’m not letting you anywhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>near</span>
  </em>
  <span> my core. But, like, what, are you saying I should try to attune to my magical signature?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING?” Aserith said, rolling their eye. “WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NEXUS OF YOUR PART OF THE MULTIVERSE. INFINITE VERSIONS OF YOU ACROSS INFINITE DIMENSIONS AND TIMELINES, ALL WITH YOUR SIGNATURE. A SPELL WON’T BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM; ONLY YOU CAN.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I don’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena stressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“SOUNDS LIKE A YOU PROBLEM, SHADOWKEEPER.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena frowned. “You know, I really don’t like you very much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THE FEELING’S MUTUAL.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena took a deep breath, closing her eyes and extending her free hand, trying to weave her magic into some sort of locator spell. “Alright, magic. I need you to find my body for me. Pretty please? With a cherry on top?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU HOW SHAMEFUL IT IS THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO KEEPS BOOTING US BACK HERE ALL THE TIME?” Aserith said. “BECAUSE, REALLY, WHEN YOU SAY SHIT LIKE THAT, IT MAKES ME FEEL PATHETIC FOR LOSING TO YOU.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you shut up for </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>seconds while I try to do this?” Lena hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WHATEVER.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena focused, and infused her spell with some light magic before casting it. A collection of shining blue lines snaked out from her hand, weaving their way through the Shadow Realm in all directions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YOU’VE OFFICIALLY GONE CRAZY,” Aserith said. “ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED? EVERY DEMON ON THIS SIDE OF THE REALM IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO TRACE THESE BACK TO US!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know! It’s not for long. I just need to figure out which of these paths leads to my body. I mean, they all lead to my body, but, you know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> body, specifically.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“AND HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIGURE THAT OUT, SHADOWKEEPER?” Aserith sneered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh. Vibes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WE ARE BOTH GOING TO DIE HERE.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awfully pessimistic of you, Aserith,” Lena mumbled as she combed through the various connections she’d forged. She was able to rule out a few pretty quickly, the guiding lines fading away into the blackness of the Shadow Realm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’M JUST SAYING,” they returned. “WE BOTH KNOW THAT I’M FAR FROM THE SCARIEST THING AROUND HERE.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not a very high bar,” Lena said, waving away a few more possibilities. “You know, back on Earth, you’re considered a class D shadow entity.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aserith hummed. “D FOR DEVIOUS AND DANGEROUS, I PRESUME.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, D for easy to summon and not very powerful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THAT DOESN’T START WITH D,” Aserith complained. “YOUR RANKING SYSTEM IS STUPID. I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I’VE CONQUERED MANY DIMENSIONS IN MY TIME. EATEN LOTS OF SOULS.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmhmm. But not any longer, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NOPE! COLD TURKEY, REMEMBER? I’D NEVER LIE TO YOU, SHADOWKEEPER.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Riiiight.” Lena frowned; she’d narrowed her selection down to two threads, both leading in the same general direction, but diverging slightly. They both felt very familiar, and she had to focus in order to determine which one was closer to what she was looking for. Eventually, though, she settled on one, and dismissed the other. “Alright, got it. Thanks for the help, Aserith. See you next time some idiot tries out a ritual from a demonology book they found at the Duckburg library.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let go of Aserith and began flying away, chasing the path her magic had outlined for her; to her annoyance, however, they followed along beside her, gesticulating with their tentacles as they talked. “ACTUALLY, DON’T YOU THINK I SHOULD STAY WITH YOU UNTIL YOU GET BACK? WOULDN’T WANT YOU TO GET LOST AGAIN OR ANYTHING. THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena sighed, and started flying faster. “You just want to jump through my return portal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THAT’S PREPOSTEROUS. I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“oh, wouldn’t you now, aserith?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>spoke another voice. A second creature appeared on Lena’s other side; this one looked similar to Aserith, with the whole horrific eye and too-big mouth deal, but they had proper arms instead of tentacles, which ended in wicked claws.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, great,” Lena groaned. “The whole family’s here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HEY, BUTT OUT, NAVERITH!” Aserith bellowed, their eye narrowing in anger. “I FOUND HER FIRST. YOU ALWAYS DO THIS!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“come now, aserith. that’s no way to speak to a class c shadow entity, now is it?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith chastised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WHAT?” Aserith turned on Lena, now. “YOU’RE TELLING ME THEY OUTRANK ME?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t drag me into this,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THEY’RE YOUR RANKINGS!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Technically they’re my sister’s rankings,” Lena said. “Look, it takes more magical energy to summon Naverith, okay? That’s really all it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“aww, it’s sweet of you to spare their feelings, shadowkeeper,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“but we all know the summoning energy is in direct proportion to the psychic and physical strength of the demon.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YOU SAYING YOU’RE STRONGER THAN ME?” Aserith shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“i’m simply reporting the facts,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Naverith said, shrugging with ten pairs of arms at once. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“but, after all, i am the older sibling. it simply makes sense, does it not?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“OLDER BY, LIKE, TWO EONS! THAT’S NOTHING!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena let them continue to bicker as she flew. Her spell led her to another reality bubble, and she followed it across several landscapes until she arrived at a large tower in the middle of an open field. The spell pointed her up to the very top floor, and she phased through the bricks to see the shadow imprints of Webby, Dewey, and a younger-looking version of herself climbing up a ladder. It was her body, though; it must have reverted when young-her started inhabiting it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“ah, it seems we’ve arrived,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith said smoothly, circling around Lena.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NOW, DON’T YOU HAVE A PORTAL TO MAKE?” Aserith said from above, their tentacles twitching with anticipation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, no, I’m not opening that up until you two are gone,” Lena said, pointing a finger out towards the distance. “So scram, before I make you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“cute,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Naverith cooed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“it’s true you were able to best aserith and i in your home realm, but you’re in our domain now, shadowkeeper.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THE MATERIAL PLANE WEAKENS OUR POWERS,” Aserith said. “BUT HERE WE’RE AT FULL STRENGTH! YOU CAN’T TAKE US BOTH AT ONCE!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“if you want to live,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith said, their toothy mouth curling up in a smile, hands beckoning her in, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“you’ll make a portal for us, and step aside.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena pursed her lips. “You know what? Fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“OH.” Aserith’s eye blinked. “OKAY, WELL, THAT WAS EASY. KINDA THOUGHT YOU’D—GAH!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both let out piercing screeches as Lena blasted them each in the eye with a quick laser from either hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“you horrible little girl!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith cried. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“you’ll pay for that!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gotta catch me first,” Lena said. “Here’s your portal, idiots.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She concentrated an enormous amount of magic into her finger tips, then swiveled around and slashed her arm through the air. Her fingers burned as they tore through the Veil, leaving a large, swirling portal in their wake, glowing a bright opaque white. Without another thought, Lena leapt through.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2021</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha!” Phantom Blot laughed, struggling against the ropes binding him. They’d moved him into an alley behind the CVS so as not to overly concern any civilians while they conducted the interrogation. “I’m not telling you anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” May sneered, leaning in and cracking her knuckles. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>will.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby gave a nervous laugh. “Haha, okay, May, dial it down a notch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” June asked. “He tried to kill Lena! I say we rough him up a little.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blot scoffed. “Please; she isn’t even properly alive in the first place. You can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bundle of magic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>May put her hands on her hips. “See? He’s the worst. Give us five minutes with him; we’ll find out everything you need to know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You two are scary,” Lena mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re efficient!” June countered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll tell you if we need you to get serious with him. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” Violet stepped forward to face Blot. “What can you tell us about Malaheim’s Timekeeper?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never heard of it in my life,” Blot said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We know you had it,” Webby said, narrowing her eyes. “You tried to use it after we beat you yesterday. What was your plan?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just checking the time,” Blot said innocently. “I was meeting Pepper for dinner that evening and I didn’t want to be late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena groaned. “This is getting us nowhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby looked thoughtful. “Maybe we just need to—Granny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena watched as Beakley stalked past Webby, pulled back her arm, and socked Blot right in the face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ow!” Blot shouted, reeling back. “This is harassment!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>June huffed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to punch him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Answer their questions,” Beakley said icily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, fine!” Blot grumbled. “The Timekeeper allows you to travel between three distinct timelines. I was going to go to the one where the shadow child is weak and pathetic, absorb her magic, then come back with her powers to finally beat you insufferable children once and for all!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet frowned. “But if you absorbed her in the past, she wouldn’t exist in the present.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blot rolled his eyes. “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. I said they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>distinct</span>
  </em>
  <span> timelines. What happens in one won’t affect the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re separate multiversal dimensions,” Violet said, eyes widening. “It’s not time travel at all, it’s dimension hopping.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you wanna call it,” Blot grumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So how do we swap Lena back?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure,” Violet said, tapping at her chin. “With the artifact destroyed, we’d need to find another way to locate the target dimension, and then a way to cross over. We can probably manage both of those with magic, but it’ll take a lot of research.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much is a lot?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet hummed. “Hard to say. Several days, probably, if we keep at it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> pace?” Webby said, eyebrows rising. “It must be </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> complex, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It would be the most precise and complicated spell I have ever attempted,” Violet said. “It may not even work. But I’m unsure what other avenues we have open to us at this time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me see your book, girl,” Phantom Blot said. “I think there’s a spell in there that might be of interest to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>May crossed her arms. “And why are you helping us all of a sudden?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want my advice or not?” Blot spat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>June shrugged. “It can’t hurt, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s hear what he has to say,” Beakley decided. “Watch him closely, though, girls. Stop him if he tries anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena and Webby watched from the alley’s entrance as Violet hesitantly approached Phantom Blot. May and June stood on either side of him, and Beakley stood guard next to Violet, all three of them watching Blot intently; May was scowling, June was smiling, and Beakley was as impassive as ever. Violet opened her book to Blot, and he kept mumbling for her to turn the page, until he suddenly instructed her to stop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here we go,” he said. “This spell. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Magia crepitus.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet frowned. “That’s not the name of this spell.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was when Lena noticed that Blot’s discarded gauntlet, which had been laying dormant on the street this whole time, was beginning to glow. Her eyes widened; that had been an incantation. “RUN!” she yelled, and all she had time to do was grab Webby and drag her around the corner of the alleyway before a brilliant, multicolored explosion went off from inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NO!” Webby screamed, freeing herself from Lena’s grip and looking back into the alley once the blast died down. Lena peeked in over her shoulder, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw that Beakley, Violet, May, and June were all laying unconscious on the concrete. The only one who was up and about was Blot, who was reaffixing the gauntlet around his arm; he glanced up, catching Lena’s gaze, and his eyes narrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s not good,” Lena said, pulling away from the entrance to the alley and pressing herself up against the wall of the CVS. “He can remote detonate that thing? You’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>got</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be kidding—wait, Webby!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked on in fear as Webby launched herself into the alleyway, fists swinging. Her first punch landed against Blot’s gauntlet with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>clang,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and she immediately dropped into a crouch, a laser shooting over her head and exploding against a nearby dumpster. Webby scrambled around behind Blot, jabbing him in the back; he swiveled around, swiping out at her, but by then she was already in the air, her foot swinging around to ram into the side of his jaw. He grunted and smacked her out of the air. She hit the ground with a cry, then hastily rolled to the side as another laser exploded next to her head. She jumped up and socked Blot hard in the thigh, but got kicked for it, forcing her to retreat a few steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena could only stand and watch as they fought, exchanging blows, magical blasts lighting up the alleyway and grunts of pain echoing against the walls. Webby was fighting differently, now, than she had been before; it was less clinical and more animalistic, her precise jabs and kicks substituted out for heavy hooks and roundhouses designed to hit as hard as possible. Blot was certainly feeling the blows, with the way he was panting and stumbling around, but Webby wasn’t unscathed either—she was tattered and bruised, and while she was still flipping and diving around him like a terrifying, feral cheerleader, Lena could tell she was running on adrenaline. She was one solid hit away from dropping.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Blot hit her square in the chest with one of his lasers, sending her flying backwards. She slammed into the ground, rolling arm over arm and coming to a rest a few feet in front of Lena.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WEBBY!” Lena shrieked, rushing forward and crouching down in front of her. She contemplated grabbing her and running, but she couldn’t just leave the rest of them here unconscious, could she? “Oh, god, what do I do? Oh god, oh god—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You aren’t going to ‘do’ anything,” said the Phantom Blot, raising his gauntlet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A light activated from within the device, and Lena gasped as it started sucking a stream of magic out of her body. “No! No, please, please don’t—ple—argh!” She grunted in pain, dropping to one knee, and a second later, a shrill, piercing scream tore itself from her throat as her body exploded with pain.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>2027</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What—what is that?” Lena asked, clutching the Timekeeper to her chest as she backed away from the portal. “It almost looks like—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Shadow Realm,” Webby said, unsheathing a combat knife from her waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The portal flashed, and Lena prepared a laser in her hand; but then let the spell fizzle away, her jaw dropping, as someone who could only be an older version of herself flipped out of the portal, landing in a crouch. She had her hair done up in a braid, half of it dyed a familiar shade of pink, and a leather jacket flapped around her as she skidded back a few inches from the momentum. Lena had been right; she </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> pull that off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lena?!” Webby called.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get ready,” old-Lena said, immediately popping her super sorceress transformation. Her braid exploded into a long, flowing wave of white and blue hair, and her outfit shifted into a white and pink bodysuit covered by a flowing blue cloak. “We’ve got company.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How come yours is so much cooler than mine?” Lena complained as she triggered her own transformation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, you—you’re not from 2017,” old-Lena said, frowning. Then there was a roar from the portal, and she whipped her head back around, shooting a burst of magic through the opening. “Okay, talk later! I’ve got two demons trying to get out of this portal; we need to close it before they get through!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do we do that?” Dewey asked frantically as a shadowy tentacle wormed its way through the portal, only for Webby to cut it off with her knife and kick it back through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can do it, but it’ll take about a minute of concentration to build up the magic,” old-Lena said, blasting a few more spells through the portal. “You guys are going to have to hold off Aserith and Naverith while I focus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can do that!” Webby said, nodding at Lena and Dewey. “Right guys?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh—maybe?” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great!” old-Lena said. “Cause you start now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey’s eyes widened. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But old-Lena had already shut her eyes, slowly building up an aura of shadow magic as she meditated. Almost as soon as she stopped her assault, a shadowy arm reached out of the portal, extending to unnatural lengths as it reached towards her. Webby jumped forward, cutting the hand off at the wrist with her knife, which elicited an unearthly shriek as the rest of the arm slithered back into the portal. It was quickly replaced by two more arms, however, along with several tentacles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena let out a battle cry as she fired her magic at the dark appendages, pushing them back, and Webby danced around with her knife, slicing up any that slipped past Lena’s barrage. That is, until one of the hands managed to sneak unnoticed across the floor as a shadow, popping up and grabbing Webby’s ankle. Webby gasped as her foot was dragged out from under her, sending her crashing onto her back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Webby!” Lena shouted, shooting a laser at the arm that was grabbing her, only for the beam to be blocked by a clump of tentacles that suddenly shot out of the portal right for her. Lena swore, throwing up a shield; the tentacles slapped ineffectually against the barrier, but it left her helpless to stop Webby from getting dragged towards the Shadow Realm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her gut turned as a grotesque face appeared on the surface of the portal—or, well, it was less of a face, and more of a single giant eye above a gaping maw filled with far too many crooked fangs, which turned up in an unsettling smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“caught one.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Dewey leapt forward, delivering a punch straight to the center of the creature’s eyeball with his metal arm. They wailed, shrill and distorted, and let go of Webby, who quickly jumped to her feet and kicked them right in the jaw, sending them tumbling through the portal. Lena took the opportunity to drop her shield and slam the tentacles that were attacking her with a giant burst of magic, and they retreated back into the Shadow Realm, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A second eye-mouth creature poked out of the portal. They looked angry, with their eye narrowed and their mouth scowling. “UGH! YOU GUYS ARE SO ANNOYING!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey punched that one in the eye, too. “So, Lena, can you close this thing or what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Almost!” old-Lena called. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up!” Webby warned, cutting off another hand right before it could grab Dewey around the neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said almost, okay? I just need… there!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena opened her eyes; they were pitch black. She gestured with her hands, whispering something soft and low, and the portal began steadily shrinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“DAMMIT, SHADOWKEEPER!” shouted one of the creatures as it closed, a rogue tentacle flying towards old-Lena as a last-ditch effort; Lena easily blasted it away. “YOU GOT LUCKY THIS TIME, BUT WE’LL BE BACK!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“we will take our revenge,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>called the other voice, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“and it shall be delectable. until next time, shadowkeeper.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then the portal disappeared with a soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>pff</span>
  </em>
  <span> noise, and the room around them became eerily quiet by contrast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” Dewey said. “That was kind of underwhelming. I was expecting more magical lights and loud concussive noises as it was destroyed. Maybe an explosion or two.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, was that not flashy enough for you, Bluey?” old-Lena said. “Want me to open it back up and try again? Would that satisfy you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. Someone’s in a bad mood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh. Sorry.” Old-Lena rubbed at her temples. “Dealing with those two always gives me a headache.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Repeat customers?” Webby asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Big time.” She looked at Dewey. “Like the new arm, by the way. There a story behind that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Dewey said, raising his prosthetic. “Got into a fight with a chimera.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena nodded. “Poison, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Venom,” Webby corrected. “Chimeras are venomous, not poisonous.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it actually bit my arm clean off,” Dewey said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, wow,” Webby said, eyes widening. “You didn’t mention that when I asked you this morning before we took off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I almost bled out,” Dewey said. “Wild stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena nodded approvingly. “Not gonna lie, Blue, that’s kinda raw.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.” Dewey looked over at Lena and winked. She gave him a thumbs-up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena turned to Webby, a soft smile on her beak. “So, Pink. Miss me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby laughed, walking forward and taking her into a hug. “I knew you’d find your way back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I always do,” Old-Lena said, hugging her back. “I hope mini-me didn’t give you too much trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena frowned. “Hey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A lot less than </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> typically give me,” Webby said coyly. “She was very well behaved. I think you could learn a thing or two from her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena smirked. “Aw, come on. You love me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then they kissed each other full on the lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dewey rolled his eyes. “Aaand there they go. Not even five minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena didn’t really hear him, however, over the involuntary high-pitched whine that was currently coming out of her quickly-reddening face as she stared at her older self locking beaks with Webby. They pulled away after a few seconds, and when old-Lena noticed her staring, she grinned devilishly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jealous?” she asked. “Don’t worry, pipsqueak. You’ll get your turn eventually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That absolutely did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> help with the whole higher brain function issue Lena was running into at the moment. “But—no, I’m—bwuh—you—weh—and—hwuh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, no, but seriously,” old-Lena said, laughing. “What the hell is going on? Because I have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>super</span>
  </em>
  <span> confused the past couple days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re working on that,” Webby said, pulling out her phone. “We can compare notes in a second, but first, we need to call Violet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby initiated a video call, and Violet picked up almost immediately. “Webbigail. I was wondering when you would call.” She peered past Webby, meeting eyes with Lena. “And hello again, Lena. Are you alright? You’re bright red.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bweh hnng,” Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry; that’s my bad,” Old-Lena said, poking her head into frame. “I think I broke her. Sup, Vi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Violet’s expression remained perfectly schooled. “Well,” she began, pushing up her glasses. “This is certainly a development.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, so, I just got here from 2017 through the Shadow Realm,” Old-Lena said. “I still have no goddamn clue what’s happening.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“2017?” Violet asked. “Curious. Looks like we have some catching up to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next thirty minutes, Webby and Lena (once she’d managed to calm down) filled old-Lena in on what they knew so far, while Dewey carried Violet around the room, giving her a chance to decipher all the notes about the Timekeeper that were pinned up on the walls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So here’s my understanding of events,” Violet said once they were all back together, her voice coming out a bit distorted over the phone’s speakers. “We live in one of many universes within the greater multiverse. However, not all universes are equidistant; the ones more similar to our universe are closer, and therefore easier to travel between. It just so happens that there are two nearby universes that are nearly identical to ours—as far as we can reasonably assume based on the combined experiences of the Lenas, anyway—except for one core attribute: they are synchronised at different times. One is six years behind ours, and the other is ten years behind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So it’s not actually time travel,” old-Lena said, a thoughtful expression on her face. “It just looks that way on the surface.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Precisely,” Violet said. “Archmage Malaheim developed an artifact that allowed travel between these universes, and thought he had cracked time travel, not realizing it was actually dimensional magic. This was before the discipline of time magic was properly discovered and developed by other spellcrafters, so it was a big breakthrough, even if he could only travel between three distinct, parallel time periods.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So why did it do… all </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>to us?” Lena asked, gesturing between herself and old-Lena. “It’s supposed to transport you between the dimensions, right? Not perform some weird three-way consciousness swap.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right; it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> supposed to do that. It only did that because you smashed it, and the magic released wildly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena turned to her. “Wait, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>smashed</span>
  </em>
  <span> an unknown magical artifact?” She paused. “Actually, wait, no, yeah, I see it. I’d totally do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena just stared at her. “This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> weird. Have I mentioned how weird this is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmhmm. Several times now,” Webby said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Violet said, rolling her eyes, “my theory is that when you destroyed the Timekeeper, it flung you into our universe, but without any real direction. You naturally latched onto your own magical signature, and were transported to our Lena’s exact location. Obviously, that’s kind of a problem; your body couldn’t occupy the space, so it was bounced back to your own universe, but your consciousness not only stuck around, it actually kicked out </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lena’s consciousness, which found its way back throug the dimensional rift to 2017 Lena’s body, and so on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Dewey said. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m following, but why wouldn’t our Lena’s mind just go back to the empty body in 2021? Seems simpler.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A great question, Dewey,” Violet said. “To which I, of course, have an even better answer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena gave the phone screen a flat look. “You have no idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no idea,” Violet confirmed. “Sometimes, with magic, things just happen without much of a reasonable explanation. My best guess is it was down to dumb luck. Fortunately, Lena, I’ve located the soul exchange ritual that my younger self recommended to you, and I believe it would indeed be able to return the three of you to your proper bodies, even if the Timekeeper is unable to do so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a relief,” Webby said. “So, we just need to get the three of you in the same place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can use the Timekeeper for that,” Lena said. “We’re already together, so we just need to drop by 2021 and pick up young-us. She should be with either Violet or Webby, since they were with me when I broke the Timekeeper after the… the fight with… Blot.” Her eyes widened. “Shit! Blot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Blot?” old-Lena asked, raising an eyebrow. “That dude’s a chump. Chased after me for like a year after we took down F.O.W.L. even though I kept kicking the shit out of him with my magic every time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Lena doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> our magic!” Lena exclaimed, grabbing her older self by the shoulders. “She doesn’t have Magica’s amulet, and she doesn’t know how to channel our personal magic!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, because of the emotional repression,” old-Lena said, horror creeping into her voice. “How could I forget about the emotional repression?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena shook her a little. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“HOW</span>
  </em>
  <span> could you forget about the emotional repression?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, it’s been a while, okay?” old-Lena defended.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to go,” Lena said, pulling out the Timekeeper. “Like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Violet, how do I use this thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s easy; there should be three buttons on the side. You want to press the middle one. Stand next to each other, and everyone else back away.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Got it,” Lena said. Dewey and Webby backed up, and she slammed the button down. The hands on the watch began spinning around and around, faster and faster and faster and faster until the entire world around Lena began to bluuuuuuuuuuUU</span>
  <em>
    <span>UUUU#######</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aserith stole all of Naverith's capital letters when they were kids and to this day refuses to give them back.</p>
<p>Sorry for the cliffhangers lmao. We're still on for next week, though, which should be the final chapter before the epilogue. I'm excited! See you guys then :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Stitches</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena and Lena come to Lena's rescue.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>2000000##211#77%02##0$71#@27####</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was assaulted by rapidly flashing shapes and colors as the Timepiece whirred in her palm, its hands continuing to spin around so fast they practically looked like a solid black circle on the clock face. The only thing that was static in the whirlwind of motion was old-Lena next to her, who seemed equally bewildered by what was happening. As suddenly as it had started, though, everything slowed to a stop, and the two of them found themselves on the street where Lena had first broken the Timekeeper during the fight that had started all of this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” she breathed out as the world stopped spinning, “so that sucked.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, my head,” old-Lena complained, clutching at her temple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is where I fought Blot,” Lena said, looking around, “but who knows where Lena is now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a lot of magic coming from the downtown area,” old-Lena said, looking up. “So I’m guessing there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s eyes widened. “You can sense that from this far away?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Turns out it’s a pretty useful skill to develop,” she explained. “But judging by how much energy is being thrown around, we better start flying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena nodded. “Right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both activated their super sorceress forms and took off, flying over the rooftops towards downtown. They were halfway there when a far-off scream ripped through the air, loud and anguished, and they shared a concerned look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was that us?” Lena asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—I’m not sure?” old-lena said, hesitantly. “I don’t really know what our scream sounds like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“…Let’s hurry,” Lena mumbled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few blocks, they were able to spot the source of the magical disturbances. Unfortunately, Lena had been right: young-Lena was on her hands and knees outside an alleyway next to a store, and Blot was standing over her, absorbing her magic into his gauntlet. Lena could see the unconscious bodies of Webby, Violet, Beakley, May, and June in the alleyway, too, and she clenched her fists, letting out a low growl. Blot had really done it this time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She raised her hand to attack, but old-Lena beat her to it, hurling a blast of magic at Blot’s feet. It exploded, and he stumbled backwards, breaking off his connection to young-Lena. She didn’t get up, though; rather, she slumped fully onto her stomach, slowly growing more and more transparent in front of Lena’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s happening to her?” Lena asked in horror. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She lost too much magic. She’s fading,” old-Lena said, flying down to young-Lena’s side and laying her hands over her. “I’ve got her. Keep Blot busy for me, okay? She can’t take any more right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena nodded, and changed directions, swooping down to land in front of Phantom Blot. He looked up at her with disdain as he got to his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Three of you?” he groused, frowning. “And here I thought you couldn’t get any more </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena cracked her neck to one side, raising her fists. “I’m not really in the mood to banter right now, dude. You hurt my family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Blot dismissed, raising his gauntlet. “This just means I’ll be able to harvest even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> magical energy from you all once I—hey! I wasn’t finished!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena ignored him as she kicked into high gear, not bothering to hold back as she slung spell after spell at Blot. He absorbed most of them into his gauntlet, but he couldn’t attack and defend at the same time, and Lena quickly had him on the back foot. She snuck a laser past his guard, and it struck him right in the gut, causing him to double over; she followed up with a ball of concentrated magic that blew up on his legs, and he dropped onto one knee. She aimed another laser for his gauntlet in an attempt to blow it up, but he managed to absorb the attack instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who said that?!” Blot spat suddenly as he struggled to his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um.” Lena paused, giving him a strange look. “Nobody said anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am not </span>
  <em>
    <span>losing!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Blot seethed, glancing around wildly. “I don’t need anyone’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>help! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Who are you, anyway? Show yourself!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welp, you’ve clearly gone insane,” Lena said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She resumed her assault, and Blot scrambled away, absorbing the spells that would’ve hit him and letting the others fly past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The girl’s shadow magic? Yes, of course I still have it. I stole it!” he shouted, exasperated, as they fought. Somehow, he managed to find an opportunity to fire a sustained laser at Lena, and she threw up a shield in response. She grunted as the beam slammed into the barrier, but it held firm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that about my shadow magic?” Lena shouted over the noise, narrowing her eyes at him. “Who are you talking to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of your business!” Blot snapped at her, keeping his beam trained on her shield. He glanced away again in the next second, though, looking at something that Lena couldn’t see as he resumed his one-sided conversation. “Is this going anywhere? I’m kind of busy at the moment!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blot kept firing, but Lena slipped into the shadows, letting her shield fall and popping up behind Blot, nailing him in the back with a quick spell. He grunted in pain, whirling around and slamming his gauntlet into the ground—Lena flew away just in time as a large explosion of magic erupted from the impact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine!” Blot said at last, turning his arm up towards the sky, gauntlet glowing black. “But this better work!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no you don’t,” Lena said, putting her hands together and firing a targeted blast of magic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was a second too slow. Blot’s gauntlet spewed out a cloud of shadow magic just a half a second before Lena’s laser collided with its focus crystal, causing it to shatter and spew all the stored-up magic out in several colorful trails. Blot cried out in anger, but Lena could only pay attention to the shadow magic he’d released, which was slowly bubbling and growing into two large, circular figures, each with far too many limbs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve got to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> kidding me,” Lena groaned. “Hey, me! We’ve got a situation!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see it,” old-Lena called back, exasperation plaguing her voice. She was helping young-Lena up to her feet; she was a lot more solid now, but still looked a little light-headed. “Alright, teeny. Take this. You’ll need it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teeny?” young-Lena said skeptically, before she was distracted by old-Lena handing her Magica’s amulet. She took it delicately, eyes wide. “Wait, this is—where’d you get this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beat up Magica in your timeline,” old-Lena answered easily. “No time to chat, though. Get ready to fight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a flash of black light, the shadow magic in the air fully coalesced into the forms of the two demons that had tried to attack them back in the tower. Their bloodshot eyes stared down at them with barely-contained hunger, their crooked tooth-filled mouths curving and rolling in abnormal ways.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“found you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>crooned the one with all the arms—Naverith, if Lena remembered correctly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“we told you we’d be back.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“THANKS FOR THE RIDE, IDIOT!” Aserith cackled, looking down at the Phantom Blot. “I KNEW YOU SEEMED LIKE THE KINDA GUY WHO WOULD LISTEN TO PSYCHIC MESSAGES ENTERING HIS BRAIN FROM BEYOND THE VEIL!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“we could tell by the hood,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YEAH, YEAH, IT’S THE HOOD FOR SURE. IT JUST SCREAMS ‘DUMBASS WHO MAKES DESPERATE PACTS WITH DARK FORCES,’ YOU KNOW? ANYWAY, TIME TO KILL YOU GUYS.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phantom Blot looked between the demons, the Lenas, and his destroyed gauntlet. He seemed to think for a second, and then turned, running full tilt down the street and picking up a couple discarded grocery bags as he went.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Lena called, eyes narrowing. “Get back here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let him go,” old-Lena said, throwing a hand up in front of her before she could chase after Blot. “I need you here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But he—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was cut off as one of Aserith’s tentacles shot forward at her like a javelin. She hopped out of the way, and then threw up a hand to shield her face as the tentacle stabbed straight into the concrete, sending dust and debris flying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HEY! NO DODGING, THAT’S CHEATING!” Aserith bellowed, sending several more tentacles blasting towards her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena dove out of the way as the shadowy limbs ripped up the road behind her and hastily conjured a shield to deflect one that she didn’t have time to dodge. “Okay, I see your point!” she called out to old-Lena. “How do we deal with them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Try to damage their physical bodies! If we can destabilize their forms, their cores will have no choice but to fade back into the Shadow Realm,” old-Lena responded from where she was fighting with Naverith. She and young-Lena were working together to fend off a swarm of arms that snaked around them, some coming at them directly and others sneaking below them as shadows along the ground. Lena didn’t want to know what would happen if you were grabbed by one of those.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“this would go so much quicker for all of us if you would just give in,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“you’re a poor imitation of your regular self in that body, shadowkeeper. how long until you run out of magic?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“AND THE ONE WHO ENDED UP WITH YOUR MAGIC HAS NO CLUE HOW TO USE IT!” Aserith jeered as they continued attacking Lena. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was holding her ground, her shields plenty enough to stave off Asertih’s tentacles, but her lasers didn’t seem to be more than a minor annoyance. She needed to charge up something more powerful, but with how relentless their offense was, she wasn’t able to get a chance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I MEAN, COME ON, SHIELDS AND LASERS? HA! EVERY SORCERESS AND HER GRANDMA CAN DO THAT!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“i’m a fan of this small one,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Naverith cooed as they flew in a circle around young-Lena and old-Lena, who were lighting up the area with magic as they tried to keep the dozens of ever-encroaching shadow-hands at bay. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“look at her floundering. she doesn’t even know what’s going on.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry if it’s not every morning I get attacked by horrendous shadow monstrosities!” young-Lena protested, her voice shrill and panicked. She punched out with her amulet and blasted away a hand that was approaching her, but then one popped out from her shadow, reaching up and grabbing her around the calf. “Shit! Shit, it got me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena swiveled around, spell at the ready, but she was cut off by Aserith, who had briefly stopped harassing Lena to throw a tentacle out and force old-Lena back. That gave Lena a chance to charge up a larger spell, though, and she loosed it at Naverith, a small orb of powerful blue magic rocketing through the air. It collided against the side of Naverith’s eye in a brilliant explosion, and they howled, loosening their grip on young-Lena enough for her to struggle free.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Lena celebrated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But then, a tentacle lashed around her wrist from behind, pulling her arm back. Lena yelped, and turned to see Aserith grinning down at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“GOTCHYA!” they said cheerily. “NOW, TIME FOR A REFILL!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even as they said it, Lena could feel them siphoning her magic through their tentacle. She grimaced; this was like Phantom Blot all over again. Except in this older body, she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>plenty </span>
  </em>
  <span>of magic to spare. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you want my magic, huh?” Lena asked, tugging her arm back against their grip. “Here’s some magic for you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She channeled as much magic as she could into her arm, feeding it directly to Aserith. Their tentacle swelled up like a stopped-up garden hose, and a second later, it burst, exploding in a violent spray of mana and shadows. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aserith howled, eye clenching shut in pain. “GRAHHH! THAT HURT, YOU BITCH! YOU’RE THE WORST!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t have much time to complain, though. With a flash of light, old-Lena teleported on top of Aserith, holding onto the base of one of their tentacles with her left arm as she raised her right into the air, her hand glowing with magic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>just call me a bitch,” she snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Aserith could react, a long spear of blue hard-light magic appeared in her hand, and she plunged it down hard through their eye. They let out a loud, distorted wail of pain, and Lena could see the point of old-Lena’s spear poking out from the roof of their screaming mouth for a second or two before they disintegrated into black mist. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“aserith!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Naverith shouted from over where they’d been fighting old-Lena just a second ago. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“i loathe you with all me being, shadowkeeper. i hope you know that.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I get that a lot,” old-Lena returned as she dropped to the street in a crouch. With a flash, her super sorceress outfit vanished, replaced by her jacket, and her hair had tied itself back in a braid once again. “Nice one, kid. That was just the opportunity I needed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s one down,” Lena said, rolling a shoulder. “I take it you’re out of magic, though?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” old-Lena said, panting. “You and teeny over there are gonna have to deal with Naverith.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t call me teeny, old lady!” young-Lena called.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t call me old lady, teeny,” old-Lena retorted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“you are all insufferable,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Naverith said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stretched several of their arms out towards young-Lena, claws wide open and inviting. Young-Lena hastily thrust her amulet out in front of her, and a shield popped up between her and the arms. One slithered towards her from the shadows behind her, but Lena quickly blasted it away, forcing it to retreat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena ran over to her younger self’s side, leaping over a swipe from one of Naverith’s hands as she charged up a blast of magic. She shot it out straight at Naverith’s eye, but before it could connect, they disappeared into a shadow on the ground, Lena’s attack flying harmlessly off into the sky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dammit,” she grumbled, scanning the concrete around them for any movement. “Where’d they go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Below you!” old-Lena shouted from a ways off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena’s eyes widened, and she looked down just in time to see at least a dozen shadowy hands rising from the ground beneath their feet. Several grabbed her ankles, rooting her to the ground, and the rest climbed higher, grabbing onto her sweater. Lena shot at them with her magic, but there were simply too many; next to her, young-Lena wasn’t faring much better, struggling against Naverith’s assault as she fired off frantic lasers with her amulet. But there were less arms attacking her—if Lena could just…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a grunt of exertion, she enveloped young-Lena in her telekinesis and shoved her away as hard as she could. The powerful magic wrenched her out of Naverith’s grip, and she tumbled a safe distance away along the ground. It wasn’t a second too soon, either, as a moment later, Naverith fully emerged from the ground, smiling toothily at Lena. She raised her arm to fire at them, but a hand reached up and grabbed her wrist, yanking it down to her side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“now, now,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Naverith said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt someone’s meal?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kid!” old-Lena shouted desperately from behind, and Lena twisted her head around to see her trying and failing to summon her magic. “Shit, kid, get out of there!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gee, what a revolutionary idea!” Lena called back as Naverith opened their mouth wide, raising the both of them high above the ground with Lena firmly in their grip. “Hadn’t thought of that one!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Young-Lena fired a laser at the back of Naverith’s eye, but they didn’t even flinch, closing in on Lena. Their jaw was entirely around her now, and she could see that instead of any sort of normal throat, there seemed to be a swirling black void in the back of their mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This has to be the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst</span>
  </em>
  <span> way to die,” Lena mumbled. But then, just before Naverith’s fangs closed around her, Lena saw a small, green ball fly in between their teeth. It looked almost like a grenade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, fuck, that was a grenade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The upside of getting eaten by Naverith was that Lena wasn’t immobilized anymore. She summoned a magical barrier around her entire body, reinforcing it with as much magic as could muster, and just milliseconds before she tumbled into the menacing portal in the back of Naverith’s throat, the grenade detonated in a fiery explosion. Lena’s vision went white, and her ears rang, but her shield held. As her vision returned, she found herself in a cloud of rapidly-dispersing black mist; and then, as her shield flickered away around her, she found herself falling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out an involuntary cry as she plummeted towards the street. She tried to summon her magic again to levitate herself, but she must have finally exhausted the reserves of old-Lena’s core, because it wouldn’t come. With no other recourse, she braced for impact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But instead of the cold, unforgiving concrete, she landed in two strong arms, and looked up into a familiar face. “W-Webby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby smiled down at her. “Hi, Lena!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi,” Lena mumbled slowly. “Uh. Thanks, Pink.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course! I’m just glad I thought to bring that grenade with me when we left to fight Blot. Never know when those things’ll come in handy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.” Lena coughed, adjusting herself awkwardly in Webby’s arms. “Um—I was able to shield myself from the explosion, by the way, so I’m okay. I can stand on my own and stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I know!” Webby said, without putting her down. “I wouldn’t have done that I didn’t know you’d be okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um. Alright.” Lena paused. “You’re, uh, just gonna keep holding me, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I missed you,” Webby said as an answer, squeezing her a little. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena laughed, reaching up and flicking her bow. “I missed you too, Pink.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, aren’t you two adorable?” old-Lena said, smiling knowingly as she approached them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby turned, and gasped, bringing her hands up to her cheeks (and inadvertently dumping Lena onto the ground) as she stared up at old-Lena with starry eyes. “Oh my god! Lena, is this you from the future? Wow, you look so cool!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” old-Lena said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cool enough to drop me, apparently,” Lena grumbled as she picked herself up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Webby giggled sheepishly. “Sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, don’t worry, kid,” old-Lena said, reaching out and ruffling Lena’s hair. “You’re cool too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gave her a flat look. “You’re having way too much fun with this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just then, young-Lena walked over to them. She looked as exhausted as Lena felt. “Ugh. Is that it? Is it over? Are there any more grand magical threats that we have to deal with?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope, I think that’s it,” old-Lena said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what about the others?” Lena turned to Webby. “I saw them unconscious in the alley with you when we arrived. Are they okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I checked their vitals when I woke back up,” Webby said. “They’re a little beaten up, but I think Blot’s magic blast was more of a ‘deplete your energy’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>magical </span>
  </em>
  <span>explosion rather than a ‘burn and kill you’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>regular </span>
  </em>
  <span>explosion, if that makes sense. They should wake up soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Young-Lena let out a breath. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want them getting hurt trying to protect me.” She looked up. “So, uh, could someone please tell me what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> is happening? Why are there three of us?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When the artifact broke, it did a three-way swap,” old-Lena explained. “I got sent back to the 2017 universe. I took care of Magica for you—you shouldn’t have to worry about her for a while—and then I traveled through the Shadow Realm back to my own dimension in 2027, where this one was.” She pointed a thumb at Lena. “Oh, and I pissed off some demons on the way, so that’s what was up with those guys. Sorry about them, they don’t know how to behave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t apologize; that was awesome!” Webby exclaimed. “I’ve never blown up a </span>
  <em>
    <span>shadow demon</span>
  </em>
  <span> before!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena chuckled. “Well, it probably won’t be the last time, so you’ve got that to look forward to, I guess. Anyway, once we got our stories straight in 2027, we traveled here with the artifact that Blot used to create this whole mess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So… that means you got sent to the future?” young-Lena asked, looking at Lena. “Or—the future-future, I mean. Side note, this whole situation is literally so dumb.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena shrugged. “To me it’s just the normal future, but yeah. It was pretty chill, honestly, but… really weird to see everyone’s futures. Especially, uh—” She coughed, glancing over at Webby. She quirked her head a bit to the side, giving Lena a curious look, but didn’t say anything. “Yeah. It was weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Young-Lena sighed. “I know what you mean. This has all been… </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much. It took me a while to come to terms with everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you guys did it!” Webby said, jumping forward and squeezing them all together in a group hug. “Wow, three Lenas,” she mumbled. “This has only ever happened before in my dreams!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena paused. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um—” Webby stumbled back, blushing and waving her arms around. “I mean, um, not that I dream about giant Lena cuddle piles, or—uh—wait, no, forget I said that—oh, god…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena laughed, eblowing Lena in the shoulder and winking. Lena found herself blushing, now, too, and she swatted at her older self. “Shut up!” she hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t say anything, kid,” old-Lena mumbled back to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were thinking it though! I can tell, that’s the same face I make when I’m teasing Violet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, so you want me to shut my face up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If that’s what it takes!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell are you two talking about?” young-Lena asked, raising an eyebrow at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing,” the two of them said in unison.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh. So!” Webby clapped her hands together, laughing nervously. “Anyway, uh, I guess that’s it, then, right? You just need to return to your proper times and all?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve gotta swap our bodies around a bit first,” old-Lena said, fishing a piece of paper out of her jacket pocket. “When the kid broke the amulet, it only switched our minds, so we need to switch them back. Got a spell for it here. Because, like, no offense, teeny, but your core is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. I’m getting claustrophobic in here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god,” young-Lena said, frowning. “The only thing I’m offended about is you calling me teeny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, come on, teeny, you don’t like it?” old-Lena teased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever.” Young-Lena rolled her eyes. “At least I’m not wearing a leather jacket in a desperate attempt to cling to my cool, rebellious teenage years. Like, come on, girl, you’re not fooling anyone with that. I can tell by looking at you that you get excited when there’s a twenty percent off sale at Gap. You’ve probably memorized which grocery stores carry the kind of granola bars you like. Fucking nerd.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena blinked. “Yikes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Old-Lena seemed at a loss for words for a second. Eventually, though, she started laughing, shaking her head. “Oh, wow. I never thought I’d be on the other end of one of my sardonic teenager takedowns. Is this how Beakley feels?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s just get on with the spell or whatever,” young-Lena said, crossing her arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, alright.” Old-Lena managed to cut her laughter, looking down at the spell in her hands. “Okay, this shouldn’t take long. Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>whoof, theres that. fight scenes are hard :(</p>
<p>Epilogue next week, and then we're done! See ya guys then &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! If you want, you can find me over at tumblr at <a href="https://webby-vanderslap.tumblr.com/">webby-vanderslap</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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